The Haddock Twins: Defenders of Berk
by Skylight369
Summary: The Dragon Riders need to transition from riders to defenders as they deal with threats from the Outcasts and the Berserkers.
1. Live and Let Fly

**A/N: Finally got this series started! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

In a middle of a lone cave lit up by two torches stood Fishlegs Ingerman tied up.

The chubby, blonde boy was struggling against his bonds when a mysterious voice called out to him. "Tell us what you know about the dragons, boy. Tell us how you train them!"

"I won't talk! You can't make me!" Fishlegs shouted defiantly as he continued to struggle.

"Oh, I think we can." With that, the fires on the two lit torches were extinguished, leaving Fishlegs surrounded by darkness.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" Fishlegs asked meekly. He then started to hyperventilate. "Oh, you can't- you can't leave me in here." Hyperventilating more, Fishlegs couldn't take it anymore and caved. "Okay, okay! Hiccup and Hicca are the leaders of the Berk Dragon Academy! Hiccup owns a male Night Fury named Toothless and Hicca owns a female Night Fury named Midnight! Then there's Astrid! She's mean, but in a nice way. Her dragon is a blue Deadly Nadder, shoots spines, loves chicken! And Raeda, she's a skilled archer and rides a purple Nadder. Snotlout rides a Monstrous Nightmare, but were not actually sure who's more monstrous, him or the dragon! Then there's the Twins. They share a Zippleback, actually they fight over it."

After the confession, two blasts of fire were shot out, lighting up two additional torches. Those torches were held by Hiccup and Tuffnut as they stood with the rest of the Dragon Riders who all held disappointed looks, revealing that the interrogation was a test.

"What?! You KNOW I hate the dark!" Fishlegs defended, noticing the others disappointment.

"Great. Fishlegs? More like "Guppylegs". Jeez..." Tuffnut scoffed.

"We're Vikings, Fishlegs! Toughen up!" Raeda said.

"Raeda's right, Fishlegs, you can't cave in!" Hiccup agreed. "Alvin would do a lot more than turn out the light to get you to talk. He had me locked in a dungeon ready to be executed! Toothless and Midnight were chained in muzzle for days. You need to stick with what we discussed: your name, where you live, and nothing else." He listed.

"Stick with those three things throughout and the interrogators will eventually get bored and move on." Hicca added.

"All right, I'll work on it!" Fishlegs said.

"'Mean?' I'm not mean." Astrid muttered.

"I have to disagree with you there, Astrid. You have your moments." Raeda said.

Snotlout decided to step in. "It's okay, Astrid. I like mean girls." He said with a wink, to Astrids' disgust.

Astrid rolled her eyes as she and the others left the cave with their dragons.

There was only one problem.

"Uh, guys?" Fishlegs called out, still tied up. The other riders have already left, leaving him and Meatlug."Hey, girl. Can you untie me?" However, the Gronckle merely licked her rider and then went to the side to take a nap."Please?"

 _"_ _I'll untie you after my nap"_ Meatlug warbled.

After the days training session, the Haddock twins with Toothless and Midnight met up with their father, Stoick the Vast, at the docks where the Berkian chief delivered a shocking announcement.

"Grounded? All the dragons? Are you serious?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

"Deadly serious." Stoick said, while monitoring the work of the villagers."From this point forward, there is a ban on flying, period."

"What? What about patrolling, training?" Hiccup asked.

"And our defenses?" Hicca asked.

"What part of 'ban on flying' did you not understand, Hiccup and Hicca?" Stoick countered.

"The whole thing cause this makes no sense." Hicca retorted.

"Yeah that's... that's ridiculous." Hiccup added.

Stoick paused their conversation to address a Viking. "I want that wall higher!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" The Viking replied.

The chief then turned to his children. "Are you calling your father ridiculous?"

"Of course not. We would never call our father ridiculous." Hicca and Hiccup both answered. They then turned to each other and nodded before turning back to their father."We're calling our chief ridiculous." Midnight and Toothless both gave a dragon-like laugh.

"Careful, children. You too, dragons." The chief warned. He then turned his attention to the working Vikings"Put your backs into it, boys!"

Neither of the twins gave up as they went after their father. "Dad, Alvin has his own dragons. Changewings, Scauldrons, Whispering Deaths... I saw them with my own eyes." Hiccup stated.

"Yes. When you were kidnapped and locked up in an Outcast prison, the same one which Hicca barely managed to escape." Stoick reminded him, remembering that day. He was so worried when he found out Hiccup and Hicca went off on their own. And it only increased when he discovered that his son and both the Night Furies were kidnapped by the Outcasts. He was not going to let that happen again.

"There is more to that than just having those dragons, dad." Hicca pointed out.

"Hicca's right. Alvin also read the Book of Dragons, He's seen Astrid train a Monstrous Nightmare, and he still has Mildew, who, by the way, I really doubt will hold up under questioning." Hiccup said.

"And with the ways Alvin has to get information, it won't be long till he knows how to earn a dragons' trust. And with that, he can do anything." Hicca added.

"Hiccup...Hicca" Stoick tried to say, before Hiccup continued to speak.

"If Alvin learns how to train his dragons and he attacks with them, our only chance is to fight back with ours." He concluded.

"I understand that." Stoick said, putting one hand each on his childrens' shoulder."But I'm not gonna risk either of your lives or the lives of any of your Dragon Riders. This is my final word."

With a sigh, Hicca and Hiccup both made their way to the Academy to tell the others the news.

"And you two agreed? Just like that?" Astrid asked once they were finished telling them.

"What other choice did we have? He's the chief, who also happens to be our incredibly overprotective father." Hiccup responded.

"That sometimes has its' downside. And we did try to argue, but he is adamant about keeping this new rule." Hicca said.

"Well, we have to get him to change his mind." Astrid suggested.

"Stoick the Vast? Um, good luck with that." Fishlegs commented.

"After all, the stubbornness does run in the family." Raeda said.

"So what am I supposed to do with Hookfang if he can't fly?" Snotlout asked, annoyed by this new rule."You know what happens when is inner warrior is caged up?" To answer this question, Hookfang lit himself on fire and then smacked his rider across the Academy with his skid across the floor and was stopped by Astrid foot.

"I have a guess." Raeda said.

"THAT is what happens!" Snotlout said with his face still at the sole of Astrids' boot.

"Whoa, we should have caged his inner warrior a long time ago. That was awesome!" Tuffnut exclaimed, with his twin nodding in agreement.

Ruffnut chuckled. "Yeah."

"Look, I know this is going to be hard, but Hicca and I will keep working on our dad, and hopefully he'll change his mind." Hiccup said.

"And what if he doesn't?" Astrid asked.

"We'll think about it when we cross that bridge." Hicca answered.

Since they had a new ban on flying, Hiccup and Hicca couldn't give their regular lesson so they decided to cut the lessons short for the day so that the auburn haired twins could come up with lessons that will not involve flying.

Hiccup and Astrid were walking back from the Academy, accompanied by Toothless and Stormfly.

"Wow, I forgot what a long walk it is from the Academy." Astrid said to Hiccup. "Sure would be nice to fly home."

Hiccup sighed. "Why thank you, Astrid, for that observation because Hicca and I clearly don't have enough on our plate right now."

Toothless then started leaping around the two teens and motioned to the sunset.

"What's with him?" Astrid asked, watching the male Night Fury dragon.

"Ah, it's sunset." Hiccup explained. "We always take a lap with Hicca and Midnight around the island when it gets dark. He and Midnight loves it. I bet Midnight is doing the same thing right now."

Astrid looked at Toothless with sympathy as the male Night Fury stared longingly into the sunset. "Poor Toothless and Midnight. No family, no night-flying. What's left for them, really?" Noticing the look Hiccup was giving her, she decided to leave with Stormfly. "Okay, why don't I leave the two of you alone."

"That's probably a good idea." Hiccup said as he watched the blonde Hofferson girl walk away with the blue Nadder.

Toothless continued to look out at the sunset.

Apparently, as time went by, Toothless continued to become more and more frustrated at the fact that he couldn't go out flying with Hiccup. In fact he started bothering his rider more and more, hoping that the auburn-haired boy would give in. Currently they are at the forge with Hiccup working on a shield when Toothless walked by him, swatting the human with his tail.

"Ow! What?" Hiccup yelled, rubbing his head. Toothless just gave him a look saying 'you know what?' Hiccup then went back to working on his shield, only to get nudged in the back by Toothless. Toothless then gave his rider a pleading look. Hiccup simply responded with a hand-signal, telling the dragon to settle down. Giving up, Toothless slumped to the ground, turning his face away from Hiccup.

"Hey bro." Hicca said as she and Midnight came to the forge.

"Hey, sis." Hiccup replied before going back to working on his shield.

Midnight then nudged her rider. "No means no, Midnight. I already told you and I'm not changing my mind." Hicca said sternly. Midnight gave a downcast expression and then went to sulk with her mate.

"Toothless has also been bothering about flying." Hiccup commented looking at the upset dragons warbling at each other.

"Well can you blame them, bro? Most of our day consists of flying that the idea of _walking_ seems foreign." Hicca pointed out. Hiccup agreed with her.

They were then joined by Gobber. "Ah, nice to have both of you in the shop, Hicca and Hiccup. Usually you two and Toothless and Midnight are out enjoying a beautiful evening flight at this hour. Of course, you two can't do that anymore, what with the 'ban on flying' and all." The blacksmith commented casually. Both the twins gave their mentor deadpan looks as if to say ' _Seriously?'_ so the blonde man decided to change the subject. "Eh, shame about that. So what are we making?" He asked looking at the shield Hiccup was working on.

"What do you think?" Hiccup asked showing his mentor the wooden shield with the Berk Dragon Academy symbol painted on it.

"All this work for a shield?" Gobber asked.

"Clearly, you didn't see the design for this." Hicca said.

"Hiccas' right, it's not just a shield." Hiccup said. He then activated a trigger which caused a line launcher to shoot from the centre of the shield and wrapped itself around Gobber. Because Gobber was twice Hiccups' size and weight, the boy was dragged towards the blacksmith.

There was then an awkward moment until Hicca spoke up. "Well _that_ definitely works."

"Handy." Gobber commented.

Hiccup un-wrapped the rope around Gobber and reeled it back in to the shield. "If we can't ride dragons, we have to defend ourselves somehow." Hiccup explained.

"Yeah, I need to start working on my own weapon to defend myself. I'm thinking maybe a staff or something" Hicca said.

Gobber noticed that the twins were still not happy with the no-flying rule. "You know, Hiccup, Hicca, your father is just doing what's best for you two. He's trying to keep both of you safe."

"We know that. But the problem is; the safest place for me and Hicca _is_ on Toothless and Midnight." Hiccup replied.

"We're always at our best when we are in the air with them." Hicca said.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it." Gobber said, getting ready to leave. "I imagine you two will be here quite a while. That's too bad, really. Have you seen that moon? Can't imagine a more beautiful night for a flight." Hiccup and Hicca responded with glares.

Gobber then realised his mistake. "I did it again, didn't I?" He then decided to leave.

Hiccup and Hicca were about to go back to their work when they were suddenly face-to-face with Toothless and Midnight. Both Night Furies had one thing in mind.

And both Hiccup and Hicca knew what they were. "We know what you two are thinking and you both might as well forget it." Hiccup said.

Midnight and Toothless warbled at their humans.

"You two know very well we can't." Hicca said.

The four of them then looked up at the moon. Gobber was right; it was a beautiful night for a flight.

"Let's face it, bro. We're never ones to obey orders or rules. We wouldn't be where we are now if we did." Hicca pointed out.

"Can't argue with that logic, sis." Hiccup agreed whole-heartedly. "One quick flight. Let me just put this shield away." While picking up the shield, Hiccup accidently pressed the trigger, causing the line launcher to come out and wrap itself around a surprised Hicca! It then pulled her towards her brother. Toothless and Midnight warbled in confusion at the sight, weren't they going to go flying?

"Whoops." Hiccup said.

"I think you need to work on this shield a little bit more." Hicca deadpanned.

Meanwhile, at Stormflys' stable, Astrid was feeding her dragon some fish. Stormfly was about to eat the fish when she started growling, as if she sensed something.

Astrid was now on her guard. "What is it, Stormfly?" She then heard two roars in the distance and looked up. "Dragons." She narrowed her eyes and saw that each dragon had a figure of a person on them. "And some people are riding them." She then recognised those two dragons. "Wait a minute...those are Night Furies!" _'They wouldn't, they shouldn't'_ she took another look at those dragons. _'But they are'_.

Without wasting a second, the Hofferson girl got on her own dragon and started chasing the four of them. "Alright Hiccup and Hicca, what are you two up to?" Astrid muttered to herself. The Haddock twins noticed Astrid and Stormfly after them and they got Toothless and Midnight to fly faster to avoid the duo. They went through the sea stacks. "Come on...come on." Astrid muttered, hoping to keep up with the two fast dragons. After some tight turns through the sea stack, the four of them finally managed to lose Astrid and Stormfly.

"That was a close one." Hiccup said. They settled on one of the sea stacks. "Nice flying, guys. I think we lost her."

Hicca then spotted something. "Uh, Hiccup..."

"Think again, Hiccup." Astrid said as she and Stormfly landed on a sea stack near them.

"Astrid! We were just talking about you." Hiccup said nervously.

"Like how awesome you are and that you're one of our closest friends." Hicca added.

Astrid saw right through this. "So I guess this is the part where I ask if your father changed his mind and you two tell me he didn't and you're both going behind his back, _again_."

"Yep, pretty much." Hicca admitted.

"Actually, no." Hiccup corrected. "This is the part where I tell you our dad is wrong."

"So... he knows." Astrid asked with doubt.

"I didn't say that." Hiccup admitted, rubbing his neck. Look, you were there on Outcast Island. You know what Alvin is capable of.

"So you and Hicca were just going to fly around at night, all by yourselves and say nothing." Astrid retorted.

"That...was our plan..." Hiccup admitted sheepishly.

"But with the way you're saying it doesn't really make it sound like a good plan." Hicca said.

"We didn't want to get anyone else in trouble. We were trying to do the right thing...sort of." Hiccup explained.

"We all know what the right thing is, guys. But if we're going to go behind your fathers' back, we're _all_ going to go behind your fathers' back." Astrid said firmly.

So the three teens and three riders made it back to Berk without getting caught and started planning their secret flights. The next morning, Hiccup, Hicca and Astrid went to the rest of the teens and told them the plan.

They started with Snotlout. "Dragon Flight Club. I like that!" Snotlout said enthusiastically. He then asked. "What is it?"

"It's a secret dragon flying society. We train at night under the cover of darkness." Astrid explained.

"Sharpening our skills against possible dragon attacks by Alvin." Hiccup said.

"Or any other rogue dragon." Hicca added.

"But remember; it's a secret, nobody can know." Astrid informed him.

"As far as you're concerned; it doesn't exist. There is no Dragon Flight Club." Hiccup added.

Snotlout turned to Hookfang. "Hey, what do you think?" He asked his dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare responded by blasting his rider to a cart. "He's in." Snotlout grumbled.

The trio then went to the Henderson household to informed Raeda. When they went in, they were surprised and amazed to see Raeda painting her room to look exactly like the clouds in the sky during a sunset. Sparkfire was sniffing the painted wall in curiosity.

"Wow." Hiccup, Hicca and Astrid said.

"Hey, guys." Raeda said from the ladder where she was painting her ceiling, turning her attention to them. "Do you like it? I figured with the ban on flying, this will probably be the closest Sparkfire and I will have to seeing the sky. Unless you guys are here to tell me we'll be secretly flying behind the chiefs' back." She said looking hopeful.

"You guessed it, Rae." Hiccup said. "We call it Dragon Flight Club and-"

"And it's going to be at night." Raeda guessed. "Best time to go sneaking around, especially when you want to sneak off to another island. We all know that."

"Right again, Rae." Hicca said.

"First meeting is tonight." Astrid informed Raeda.

"We'll be there." Raeda said, referring to herself and Sparkfire.

Astrid, Hiccup and Hicca then left to tell the other teens.

On their way out, Hicca turned to Hiccup and Astrid. "Were you guys thinking that after seeing Raeda paint her own room-"

"You want to ask her to paint yours?" Hiccup guessed. His sister nodded. "Me too. That looked so realistic."

"That girl is going to get a ton of business once she starts her career." Astrid said.

They then went to their next destination; the Thorston household. They found Ruffnut and Tuffnut hanging upside down from one of the balance beams.

"So listen this is very, very important." Hiccup explained to the hanging twins. "The first rule of Dragon Flight Club is that there _is no_ Dragon Flight Club."

"Okay, so wait a minute." Tuffnut said, before he back-flipped to the ground. "Is there a Dragon Flight Club?"

"Yes." Astrid answered. "There is a Dragon Flight Club."

Ruffnut then back-flipped to the ground. "But he just said that there is no Dragon Flight Club." She pointed out, looking confused.

"Oh boy." Hicca sighed, already knowing that the blonde twins will not understand it.

"No, the first rule of Dragon Flight Club is that there is no Dragon Flight Club." Hiccup explained. "Get it?"

"Absolutely, not." Tuffnut answered.

"Yeah, I think I need to lie down." Ruffnut said rubbing her head.

"Me too. Why don't you guys come back when you make up your mind and stop saying 'is' so much." Tuffnut said as he began to leave with his sister.

"Just come to the Academy at night with Barf and Belch and do not let anyone know where you guys are going." Hicca said to them, before they left. She turned to Astrid and Hiccup. "They can understand this much."

That just left them to tell one more person.

"Um, I'm not sure this is a good idea." Fishlegs said, once he heard about the Dragon Flight Club. He then patted his dragon, Meatlug. "Besides I hate having to wake her, she's so peaceful when she sleeps." Meatlug then gave out a fart.

"Fishlegs, this is a defining moment in the history of Berk Dragon Training Academy." Hiccup explained. Hicca and Astrid looked at him, looking to see where he would go with this. "Hundreds of years from now, when they build statues of us, they are going to hearken back to the courage it took for all of us to stand up for what we know is right, regardless of the consequences."

"So I get a statue?" Fishlegs asked.

"Really, that's the selling point for you?" Hicca asked in disbelief.

Hiccup sighed. "Yes Fishlegs, you get a statue."

Soon night time came and all the dragon riders and dragons met up in the Academy. "Okay, Dragon Flight Club members, you know why you're here." Hiccup told them in his serious, leader-like tone.

"Speak for yourself." Tuffnut answered, still confused over the existence of Dragon Flight Club. His twin nodded in agreement.

"For the tenth time guys; Dragon Flight Club does exist, but when someone outside this club asks about it, we have to pretend it doesn't exist." Hicca explained, exasperated.

Hiccup continued on. "We need to be ready for dragons of any type, from a Typhoomerang to a Scauldron to a Changewing even a Whispering Death. So Hicca and I have put together some training exercises-"

He was cut off when Snotlout started mocking him. "Can we go already?" He demanded, gesturing to his impatient Monstrous Nightmare who seems to be ready to knock his rider with his tail again.

"For once, I agree with Snotlout. Since we're sneaking out at night, we need to be fast." Hicca said to her brother. She then turned to the others. "Okay, saddle up everyone. We're going to the first stop…"

Soon after taking off, they came to their destination.

"Changewing Island." Hicca announced, looking at her chosen training place.

Tuffnut definitely remembered this place. "Oh, yeah. 'Stones of Good Fortune'; a lifetime of good luck. I can't wait to get my hands on one of those."

"Tuffnut we've been over this. Those are not the Stones of Good Fortune. Those are dragon eggs." Astrid reminded him.

"And leave them alone, please. I really don't want to revisit the Changewing Debacle." Fishlegs said.

"Don't worry, Fishlegs. I'll keep an eye on him." Raeda reassured before adding. "And Snotlout to."

They landed in Changewing Island and kept themselves hidden to view how Changewing hunts.

"Changewing hunt like wolves. One dragon lures a single boar from the herd." Hiccup started to explain as they watch one Changewing chase a boar to a group of Changewings.

"Then the other Changewings surround it." Fishlegs finished.

"And just like we saw back on Berk when the Changewings came to retrieve their eggs, they all rely on teamwork with each other. No Changewing works on its' own unless there's no other option." Hicca added.

Tuffnut seemed to recognize the boar. "Hey, don't we know that boar?" He asked his sister.

"Yeah, we do. That's Bjorn Boar." Ruffnut answered.

"Are they serious?" Astrid asked in disbelief.

"You leave Bjorn alone!" Tuffnut yelled at the group of Changewings, getting their attention.

"Clearly, they are." Hiccup sighed.

The Changewings glared at the Viking teens and dragons and decided to chase them. "Class is dismissed." Hicca exclaimed.

"You're on your own, Bjorn." Tuffnut said, before he and the others flew away from the Changewings.

The group flew away from Changewings, dodging the acid along the way. "Keep your distance! Their acid is only effective at close range!" Hiccup warned.

"Not very comforting when you're riding on the slowest dragon." Fishlegs said before addressing said dragon. "Sorry girl, but it had to be said.

 _'_ _Not my fault I was born with short wings.'_ Meatlug grumbled as she flew as fast as she could to avoid the acid.

"There's too many of them." Snotlout exclaimed as he and Hookfang continued to dodge the acid. "And they're coming out of nowhere!"

Hicca then looked up and saw the clear, dark sky. An idea came to her "Hiccup! Look up!" Hicca yelled to her brother.

Hiccup looked to where his sister was pointing and got the same idea. "If they don't have anything to camouflage against…"

Fishlegs also got the idea. "It'll take away their advantage."

"Up! Up!" Astrid ordered Stormfly. All the dragon riders followed suit and the Changewings went after them. True to Hiccup and Fishlegs' statement, the Changewings didn't have anything to camouflage themselves with giving the dragon riders the upper hand. Toothless, Midnight and Stormfly then fired at the Changewings causing the dragons to retreat.

Fishlegs tried to calm himself down after the chase. "What did I say about the Changewing debacle? Was no one listening?"

"Well I'd say that, that was enough for one night. What does say about heading back home and continuing the next night?" Everyone was in agreement with the auburn haired girl and they headed back.

The next day, Gobber was in the forge trying to see how Hiccups' new shield work.

"Now where did he hide it?" Gobber asked, looking for the line-launcher.

He was too busy examining the shield to notice that someone came into the forge, "Gobber!"

Surprised, Gobber accidently pressed a trigger on the shield, causing the line-launcher to wrap itself around Stoick and bring the two men together.

They looked at each other awkwardly. "Well, uh, I'll just unwind that and hopefully no one was looking." Gobber said, relieved to see that no one saw that.

Stoick decided to ignore that moment as Gobber put the line launcher back in the shield. "I came for my saddle." He said. "Did you make the adjustments I asked for?"

"Done and back on Thornado." Gobber reported. "The new saddle should do wonders for your flying. Of course, that wouldn't matter now with the ban on flying."

"And what ban would that be?" Stoick asked.

"Stoick, the ban…on flying dragon?" Gobber reminded him, feeling confused. He never had to remind his friend on a rule he made before. "The one where-" He stopped when he saw his friends face. The realisation came to him. _'Of course. I should have known.'_ "Oh I see. The one where everyone is banned from flying dragons…except for the chief."

"Someone has to patrol the island. It might as well be me." Stoick said in his defence.

"Uh-huh." Gobber muttered unconvinced as he picked up Hiccups' shield.

"And not a word to Hiccup or Hicca."

"Stoick, I'm nothing if not careful." Gobber reassured before accidently pressing another trigger on the shield. This time he hit himself in the chin with a catapult. "Ow! Catapult, should have seen that one coming." Gobber said, rubbing his chin.

Stoick shook his head and left the forge.

Later that night, the dragon riders were at a nearby island examining a scorch mark left by a Typhoomerang.

"Much like a tree, the rings of the scorch mark can tell you the age and thus, the size of the Typhoomerang." Fishlegs explained.

"This mark is still warm." Hiccup noted.

"Which means it was made not long ago." Astrid concluded.

"And if you look at the mark, you can tell which way it came from and where it's going." Hicca informed.

"I know where it's going without all that stupid stuff." Snotlout said, getting up.

"Why do I doubt that?" Raeda asked, rhetorically.

"Do tell us, where's it going?" Astrid challenged.

"It's not. It's coming, right at us!" Snotlout alerted, pointing above. The others saw where he was pointing and saw that there was indeed a big, angry Typhoomerang charging right at them!

"So, uh, anything else we need to learn?" Hiccup asked nervously.

"Nope." Tuffnut answered, running to his dragon.

"We're good!" Ruffnut exclaimed, following her twin.

"I think we're done for the night!" Hicca said, as she got on Midnight.

The eight teens and dragons flew away from the island and the Typhoomerang, which thankfully didn't follow them.

They were heading back to the village when Tuffnut spotted something below. "Hey Hiccup, Hicca!"

"Yes Tuffnut." The Haddock twins replied.

"When did your dad join Dragon Flight Club?" The blonde twin asked.

"He didn't." Hiccup answered.

"He the reason we have a Dragon Flight Club." Hicca reminded him.

"Well, that's weird because he's right there." Tuffnut said pointing below them.

"That is so unfair!" Hicca said as she saw her dad.

"Quick everyone! Evasive cloud manoeuvres!" Hiccup ordered. They all flew up to the clouds. "We'll stay up here until we are over the village."

That, however, became easier said than done when Ruffnut and Tuffnut decided fly Barf and Belch upside down, with all four heads sticking out of the clouds below.

"What are you two doing?" Astrid whispered.

"Get back in here!" Raeda hissed.

"We can't see in there." Tuffnut explained.

"Yeah, it's too cloudy." Ruffnut said.

'This is actually fun!'

'Yeah we should fly like this more often.'

Unfortunately for all of them, that's when Stoick decided to look up and see a figure sticking out of the clouds. "What in the name of Thor?" Having a suspicion of what it was, he steered Thornado up.

"You tell them, bro." Hicca said, dreading what's going to happen.

"Uh, guys, if your heads are out of the clouds, our dad can see you." Hiccup informed the blonde twins.

The Thorston twins looked down and saw Stoick flying right towards them!

"Not going to argue with you there." Tuffnut said.

"Alright guys, split up, head home and please keep the dragons out of sight." Hiccup ordered.

"Good luck!" Hicca said before they separated.

They left just in time as Stoick and Thornado entered the clouds. The clouds blocked the chiefs' view but he knew they were figures flying around and he had a pretty good idea who they were. "You can't all get away!"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew Barf and Belch on top of the roof of the Thorston Household. The twins jumped on the roof, ran to the edge and got inside their house through the open window below.

Hookfang flew Snotlout in front of the open window to his room and flung him in. Snotlout got in with a crash, but was lucky enough to not wake his parents. "Way to go, Hookfang!" Snotlout cheered as Hookfang flew to his stable.

Raeda flew Sparkfire towards the window of her room and carefully stood on the saddle. As soon as her window came, she leapt off and grabbed onto the ledge of the window. She was able to pull herself in and pumped her fist in the air for perfecting that move on the first try.

Stormfly landed right in front of Astrids' house and lowered her wing, allowing Astrid to slide down and go inside her house. Before she closed the door, the Hofferson girl signalled her dragon to go to her stable, which the Nadder did.

Midnight and Toothless flew at top speed to the Haddock household. They each made it to their riders' rooms through their windows. As soon as Midnight landed in her room, Hicca jumped off, immediately took the saddle, riding vest and satchel off and went to her bed while Midnight went on her rock slab. Hiccup and Toothless did the same in their room. "This never happened." Hiccup whispered to Toothless as he went to bed.

Meatlug landed right in front of the Ingerman Household. The duo then walked to the front door. "We made it girl." Fishlegs said to Meatlug. "I knew we were smarter than-"

"Smarter than who, Fishlegs?" Stoick said, coming up behind Fishlegs, much to the poor boys' shock.

The chief did manage to spot someone flying, and that someone was a certain Gronckle. Following said dragon, the chiefs' suspicions were confirmed.

"C-chief! W-what are you doing here?" Fishlegs asked Stoick nervously as the chief glared at him.

"You're coming with me, son." The chief said firmly.

The next morning, the chief brought Fishlegs and Gobber to the centre of the Great Hall and interrogated Fishlegs. "I'm going to ask you one more time, Fishlegs. What were you doing at night and who was with you?"

Fishlegs was terrified, but decided to continue with what he learned about interrogations from Hicca and Hiccup. "My name is Fishlegs. I live on the island of Berk. I don't know anything about dragons or those who ride them."

"Why does he keep saying that? He's giving me the willies." Gobber said as Fishlegs continued to say only those three sentences.

"Fishlegs this isn't an interrogation." Stoick said to the terrified boy.

The wind suddenly blew in from outside and blew out the flames in the Great Hall, making it dark. This did not help Fishlegs' nerves at all. He started to hyperventilate, but continued to say the same three sentences.

"It kind of feels like it." Gobber noted.

"Not helping, Gobber." Stoick sighed. After hearing "My name is Fishlegs. I live on the island of Berk. I don't know anything about dragons or those who ride them." Over and over again, the chief decided to let Fishlegs go.

Later in the night, the teens gathered in the Academy and Fishlegs told them what happened. "When he put the screws on me, I thought I was going to crack, especially when the lights went out." Fishlegs recounted. "But I held on, because I knew that the first rule of Dragon Flight Club is that there _is_ no Dragon Flight Club."

"Great, _this_ again." Tuffnut muttered annoyed. He and his sister have yet to figure out whether there is a Dragon Flight Club or not.

"Great job, Fishlegs. If you can handle an interrogation from our dad, you can handle an interrogation from anyone." Hicca said.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Ruffnut asked.

"Nothing." Hiccup answered.

"That doesn't sound like fun." Tuffnut said.

"Look, our dad is on to us. It's important that we lay low until this blows over." Hiccup said. "We need to be invisible."

Right at that moment, Snotlout and Hookfang flew into the Academy with Hookfang fully lit on fire.

"Clearly someone didn't get the memo." Raeda said, face-palming herself. How did these two not get caught?

"What did I say about being invisible?" Hiccup asked his cousin.

"Yeah, even I knew that." Tuffnut piped in.

"Well, let's just say I may have saved this whole island." Snotlout said, relaxing on his saddle. Alvin and the Outcasts are attacking as we speak."

"Alvin." Hiccup said in disgust.

"He is not going to win this time." Hicca said with determination.

The auburn twins went to their house to alert their dad. Inside they saw their dad sleeping on the chair. Hiccup went to wake him up. With one shake on the arm, Stoick jolted awake, grabbing Hiccup thinking he was an intruder, grabbed his axe and raised it in the air.

"Dad, no!" Hicca exclaimed, grabbing the handle of the axe.

"Dad, it me! Please don't chop me!" Hiccup begged.

Letting out a deep breath, Stoick put his son down. "What did I tell you two about waking me up?"

"It's not fun for either of us." Hiccup said. "But this is an emergency the Outcasts are sailing towards Berk!"

"We need to get our defences ready!" Hicca said.

"And how would you two know that the Outcasts are coming?" Stoick asked.

"Uh, really you're going to ask us that right now?" Hicca asked, unconvincingly.

"We rather not say." Hiccup said.

Stoick sighed, his suspicions were confirmed, although there wasn't much doubt. "I told both of you no flying." He said picking up his helmet.

"Yeah, we remember clearly you said 'all dragons' were banned from flying." Hicca said.

"We're pretty sure that also includes Thunderdrums. Don't they dad?" Hiccup pointed out.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Hicca asked, crossing her arms.

Stoick paused at being caught. He then put his helmet on. "We'll talk about this later. Go gather the other dragon riders." He said, heading out the door. As soon as he opened the doors, he saw all the dragon riders and dragons standing outside and waiting.

"Hey, chief!" Fishlegs greeted, already on his saddle.

As soon as Stoick, Hiccup and Hicca got on their dragons, the group flew to the Outcasts ships.

"I'm going to draw the first line of fire. When they're reloading, you attack, but not before!" Stoick ordered.

The teens all nodded and Stoick and Thornado flewahead from the group towards the Outcast ships.

Once Alvin spotted the Berkian chief on his dragon, he signalled his men to ready the catapults. "On my command!" Alvin ordered. He then waited for the right moment. "Now!"

"Thornado, down!" Stoick commanded. The Thunderdrum dodged all the boulders flung at them and then let out a sonic roar, pushing the ships back.

Alvin was quick to recover from the blast. "Fire!"

Some of the Outcasts grabbed crossbows and shot arrows at the duo, by Thornado easily sent them back with another sonic roar. The Outcasts then continued to shoot boulders at them, but Thornado was able to dodge all of them. One boulder came right at them, but Stoick managed to catch it.

"Now!" Stoick yelled, signalling the teens. The rest of the dragon riders took that cue, flew to the ships and started firing at them.

"They're here, just like you said." One of the Outcast soldiers reported to Alvin.

"Open the cargo hold!" Alvin ordered. The Outcast did as he was told and out of the cargo hold flew Changewings.

"Changewings!" Hiccup yelled.

The Changewings started shooting acid at the dragon riders forcing them to clear a path. The Changewings then took the path and headed to Berk.

"We can't let them get to Berk!" Astrid exclaimed.

"If they reach Berk, they'll tear it apart and we won't be able to see them!" Fishlegs said.

"We need to go stop them!" Raeda said.

"But if we go after the Changewings, then the Outcasts will attack Berk." Hicca pointed out.

Hiccup then came up with a plan. "Hicca, you and I are going help dad with the Outcasts. The rest of you stop the Changewings!"

"Got it!" Everyone said, as they flew to their designated place.

The six dragon riders flew after the Changewings and remembering what they learned for Dragon Flight Club, kept the Changewings from landing on an island. They began firing at the Changewings while dodging their acids. Eventually the dragon riders won and the Changewings started heading back to Changewing Island.

"Sir, the wild dragons are leaving!" An Outcast shouted, only to be punched in the face by his chief.

"I can see that!" Alvin retorted.

The Outcasts then took cover to avoid the blasts from Thornado, Midnight and Toothless. At one point, all three dragons fired at the same time, causing an explosion that set one of the ships on fire.

Hiccup and Hicca then got the same idea from this. "Dad, our shots combined!" They yelled.

Stoick look to the where the blast was made and saw the damage caused by it and he understood. The three of them then continued to fire at the same time, blowing up more ships.

Seeing this as a losing battle, Alvin decided to quit. "Fall back and set a course back to Outcast Island!" His soldiers followed his orders without hesitation and the remaining ships turned around.

"They're retreating!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Well done, kids." Stoick said. They then headed back to Berk, but something seemed to be bothering Hiccup and Hicca. Stoick noticed this. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just... I just thought that Alvin would have had a better plan than that."

"I know. How do you go from an elaborate kidnapping plan with fake notes, a fake map and a fake Night Fury to this plan?" Hicca wondered.

"Let's just be thankful that Alvin didn't have a better plan than this." Stoick suggested.

They rejoined the group back on Berk. Next day, the Haddock twins went to sit with their dad, dreading the confrontation they are going to have for disobeying his rules _again_.

"I don't like that you two disobeyed me." Stoick started as soon as his kids sat down. "But I can admit when I am wrong. I shouldn't have grounded all the dragons. But I was just... being a father."

"We understand dad." Hiccup said.

"Completely." Hicca added.

"Now tell me everything about this Dragon Flight Club. And don't leave out a single thing." Stoick said.

The twins smiled at each other before looking back to their dad. "Well the first rule of Dragon Flight Club is that there is no Dragon Flight Club." Hiccup began.

However, unbeknownst to those three and the other Berkians and dragons was that Alvin actually had a better plan. The attack on Berk was actually a distraction to help the Outcast chief carry out his real plan. In a tunnel located underneath Berk, there were dragon eggs. And next to those dragon eggs was a crate with the Outcast symbol on it. Suddenly one of the eggs exploded, revealing to be a baby Whispering Death.


	2. Iron Gronckle

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 2: Gronckle Iron**

Today the eight dragon riders were soaring through the sea stacks at top speed with their dragons. Well seven of them were, Fishlegs and Meatlug were doing their best to keep up which wasn't very much, due to Meatlugs' short wing span.

Astrid turned around and saw the duo so far behind. Rolling her eyes, the blonde girl turned to look ahead. The agenda was to look for any Outcast ships, which were reported to be seen near around the area

Having no luck, finding any sign of the ship, the seven dragon riders led their dragons on top of a sea stack.

"We missed it." Snotlout said.

"Once again." Raeda sighed.

"It was headed this way. It must've outrun us." Astrid guessed.

"How does an Outcast ship outrun our dragons?" Hiccup wondered.

Just then Fishlegs and Meatlug arrived at the sea-stack, joining the others.

"That's how." Snotlout answered, getting annoyed at the duo.

"Whoo! We were really moving, girl." Fishlegs said, patting Meatlug."What'd we miss?"

"It's not what you missed. It's what we all missed!" Snotlout retorted.

"Snotlout." Hiccup warned. But his cousin didn't listen.

"What? I'm just calling it like I see it." Snotlout said." _If we didn't have slow and really, really slow holding us back,_ I don't know, maybe we'd have a chance to actually do what we're supposed to be doing!"

"Enough, Snotlout! It's not Fishlegs and Meatlugs' fault and your complaining isn't helping at all." Hicca said.

"She's right, that's a bit harsh." Astrid agreed.

"Guys, he does have a point." Fishlegs admitted.

"Fishlegs…" Hiccup started to say before the Ingerman boy cut him off.

"No, it's no big deal, Hiccup. You guys keep looking." Fishlegs insisted."Meatlug and I will circle back and patrol the cliffs, shore up the rear."

"Are you sure about this?" Hiccup asked.

"You don't have to be left behind." Hicca offered.

"I am sure." Fishlegs said.

"Okay. Well, use your dragon call if you spot anything." Hiccup said.

"You know I will." Fishlegs responded.

"We'll see you back on Berk." Hicca said, before she and the others left.

Fishlegs watched as the rest of the group disappeared from view. He looked a bit down as he turned to his dragon. "Wow, I thought they'd put up more of a fight than that. Didn't you?" Not feeling in the mood for patrolling, Fishlegs flew Meatlug to the beach." _You thinking what I'm thinking?" Fishlegs asked Meatlug as he ate some berries."Yeah, that's right._ There's plenty of stuff we do better than the others. Like hovering. _And zig-zagging._ And then there's... stationary flying, which admittedly, is similar to hovering." Fishlegs admitted with a sigh. Meatlug responded by licking her riders face."Oh, girl, you always know how to make me feel better. And I know how to make you feel better too." Fishlegs said, picking up some rocks."Have at 'em, girl."

 _Soon the duo seemed to be having an eating contest, as they both began to eat more and more at a fast rate._

 _In hour later, they both slowly walked to the forge, neither of them feeling well. "Gobber...Could you help Meatlug?_ She's not feeling well." Fishlegs said weakly.

"What's the problem?" The dragon dentist asked.

"She ate a ton of rocks, but she can't seem to fire out any lava." Fishlegs explained.

Gobber started examining Meatlugs' mouth. "Hmm. Eh. Mm." He then took a sniff and cringed."Ugh. Odin's dirty diaper."

"What's wrong?" Fishlegs asked, concerned.

"Dragon breath." Gobber explained."I'd say you two overdid it. Celebrating, were you?"

"Uh... Not exactly." Fishlegs hiccupped.

"Don't worry. Old Gobber can fix her right up." Gobber said. He then went to look for the right tool to use." _Nope. . No." Fishlegs got more and more worried as he saw Gobber tossing out some sharp weapons. Gobber then found what he was looking for. "_ A-ha. There we go." He said, holding out a feather. He then used the feather to tickle Meatlug under her belly." _Oh, come on."_

Fishlegs went from worried to skeptical "That's not gonna..." He was then proven wrong when Meatlug instantly threw up lava, covering the whole floor of the forge."Whoa!"

Quickly, Gobber and Fishlegs got on the table before the lava could touch either of them. "Sorry about your shop. I've never seen her make this much lava before, or this color. It's weird." Fishlegs said as he looked at the lava in fascination. He then turned to Gobber."Okay. Tickle at will."

Gobber scoffed at that "Ugh. Keep your tunic on, boy. I only do dragons." He said, handing the feather over to Fishlegs.

 _Unbeknownst to either of them, or anyone on Berk, Savage and three Outcasts came back to the tunnel that was located under Berk. They went to an area which had broken dragon eggs and tiny tunnels made "_ Alvin's plan is working." Savage said." _When these Whispering Deaths are fully grown,_ Berk will be destroyed."

Then one of the Outcasts noticed something. "Savage, one of them started out bigger than the others." He said, pointing to a bigger, red dragon egg.

"Hmm, never seen a Whispering Death egg this size before." He said. 'How come no one reported seeing this big red dragon egg?' He then looked up and saw a bigger tunnel made. " _Or a tunnel that size."_

The four men suddenly heard a growling sound. "What was that?" Another Outcast asked, getting worried.

"I'm not sticking around to find out." Savage answered and with that, the four of them ran back to their boat.

Back on ground, feeling much better, Fishlegs was giving Meatlug a good scrub with a broom. He then spotted the other dragon riders coming back and went to them. "Did you... did you find your Outcast ship?" He asked.

Snotlout replied by mocking Fishlegs' question. "Do you see an Outcast ship?"

"No, we didn't find them." Hiccup sighed.

"We probably would have had an easier time if _someone_ wouldn't have complained about something all the time." Hicca said, looking at Snotlout. "And if you were searching with us."

Before Fishlegs could reply to that, Gobber came running up to the group holding a sword. "Fishlegs, do you know what this is?" He asked, gesturing to the sword.

"Don't tell me. Don't tell me." Tuffnut said, thinking Gobber was serious.

"Um, a sword?" Ruffnut guessed.

"I said don't tell me!" Tuffnut said, punching his sister.

 _"_ _I wasn't telling you. I was telling him." Ruffnut retorted, blocking the punches. They started another fight._

 _"_ _I was gonna guess it."_

"Not just any sword. Feel it." Gobber said, tossing the sword to Astrid who caught it easily."I made it out of that strange lava Meatlug left in my shop."

"This was made from Gronckle lava?" Hiccup asked amazed.

"I prefer to call it Gronckle iron." Gobber said."I got tired of waiting for it to cool. You know what I always say, pound it while it's hot. Next thing you know, bing, bang, boom, and I've created this little beauty."

Astrid swung the sword around a bit. "It's pretty." She commented."But too light, would never hold up in battle." She said, tossing the sword back to Gobber.

"Exactly what I thought." Gobber agreed."Until I did this." He grabbed Snotlout, who was holding his sword up, and place him close. He then swung his sword against Snotlouts' sword and the new sword ended up slicing Snotlouts' sword!

The rest of the teens were amazed by this new sword. Even the twins stopped fighting to look at the sword.

"Is there any left?" Astrid asked excitedly."I've been wanting a new dagger."

"I can get a new bow." Raeda said.

 _"_ _New helmets." Ruffnut and Tuffnut said excitedly as they banged their heads together._

"Ours are pretty banged-up... from banging... them." Tuffnut said before he and his sister collapsed to the ground.

"Yep, it'd go nice on that fancy new shield of yours." Gobber suggested to Hiccup as the boy held the sword in his hands.

"Exactly what I was thinking." Hiccup said."It could make it stronger and lighter."

"I can finally have a weapon of my own that I can carry which isn't a dagger." Hicca said.

"Excuse me. Why don't you start by making me a new sword?" Snotlout demanded, holding the lower half of his sliced up sword.

"Why don't you start by getting in line?" Gobber retorted, pointing to the long line outside the forge. Fishlegs' eyes lit up at the sight."The whole town has heard about Meatlugs' Gronckle iron, and they all want a piece of the action."

Soon Fishlegs and Meatlug got busy producing Gronckle Iron for the town. Fishlegs would tickle Meatlug with the feather, causing Meatlug to barf up the lava for Gobber to use to make the weapons, including the bow for Raeda. Vikings were gathered around watching the process and applauding.

Hiccup hammered out the finishing touches to his newly modified shield. "This Gronckle iron is going to do wonders for my shield." He said, holding up the shield.

"Hey guys, check it out." Hicca said holding out her new battle staff. One side end was thicker while the other end was sharper. "Light, easy to carry, easy to use and strong. This will be the perfect weapon!"

"Right? How great is this stuff?" Fishlegs agreed.

"So what kind of rocks did you feed her?" Hiccup asked. Hicca had the same question in her mind.

"Well, actually, I can't tell you." Fishlegs said.

"No?"Gobber asked, joining the trio.

"It's a trade secret." Fishlegs said, he then held up a mace"If I told you, I'd have to mace you."

Astrid and Stormfly flew to the forge. "Hicca, Hiccup, the sentries say they saw another boat!" Astrid said."We have to go now!"

Hiccup and Hicca put their newly made weapons on their saddles and mounted up. Hiccup turned Fishlegs, who stayed put. "You coming, Fishlegs?"

"Yeah, we could use your help." Hicca said.

"I would love to, Hiccup and Hicca, but, as you two can see, Meatlug and I are pretty busy." Fishlegs said, pointing to the rest of the crowd still waiting for their , the auburn twins left with Astrid.

"We're getting low on Gronckle iron, Fishlegs." Gobber informed.

Fishlegs picked up the feather and turned to Meatlug "Okay, girl, let's make some magic." He tickled Meatlugs' stomach, only to end up with her to cough up two small lump of Gronckle Iron.

"What am I supposed to do with that, Fishlegs? Make someone a fetching pair of indestructible earrings?" Gobber asked, rhetorically. One of his customers took him seriously and raised his hand."Not gonna happen, Gunnar." Gobber said, to the customers' dismay."All right, boy. I think it's time you let me in on your trade secret."

Fishlegs took Gobber to the place and Meatlug went to. "Okay, this is it." Fishlegs said.

"All right, let's load her up." Gobber said, setting the wheelbarrow."Care to tell me which one of these is the wondrous rock?"

"With pleasure." Fishlegs said. He then started looking around. But while he was searching, he suddenly realized that he actually didn't remember which rock it was"Okay, no, not that one. Well, that one kind of resembles... hmm, wait a minute, it could be... "

Gobber then caught on to the realization when he saw Fishlegs fumbling. "You don't know, do you?"

"Of course I do." Fishlegs said unconvincingly."It's just, well, rocks can be very, you know."

"No, I don't. Tell me."

"Meatlug was very emotional that day. She was eating everything in sight." Fishlegs said, as he took some nearby berries from the bush to eat.

"She was?" Gobber asked, taking some of the berries from Fishlegs to eat.

"Yes. It was a tough day for both of us." Unable to keep up the façade any longer, Fishlegs caved in."Okay, fine, I don't know what rock makes Gronckle iron. I'm a failure, a liar, a fraud. Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now?" Fishlegs demanded clutching on to Gobber.

"Listen to me!" Gobber said, grabbing Fishlegs by the shoulders.

"Okay."

"We'll just pick up as many different rocks as we can find. We'll try 'em one at a time, and eventually we'll land on the winner." Gobber suggested.

"Promise?"

"I'm sure."

The rest of the dragon riders went back to the Academy after yet another unsuccessful mission of finding the Outcast ship. "Well, that was a complete waste of time." Hiccup said.

"We doubled back over the same area five times." Astrid said.

"Really? That was the same place? It looked so different." Tuffnut noted.

"That's 'cause you were flying upside-down, you mutton head." Snotlout said.

"Oh, yeah. Fun, though." Tuffnut said, remembering.

 _'_ _It definitely was.'_ Belch agreed.

"Is it just me or did anyone else felt like we were missing something in that search?" Raeda asked.

"You're right we needed somebody to keep track of our positioning." Hiccup said.

"Yeah, we did." Astrid agreed."And some low-speed hovering could have helped over that sea stack."

"Yeah, that could have definitely help in search at the bottom of the sea stacks." Hicca pointed out.

"Oh, come on. You're not talking about him, are you?" Snotlout complained.

"Oh, no. Not him, are you?" Tuffnut joined in, but he was confused. He turned to his twin."Hey, who are they talking about?"

"I have no idea. But he sounds important, so it definitely can't be you." Ruffnut answered.

"We're talking about Fishlegs." Hiccup said.

"We're a team, and on a team, everybody has a role to play." Astrid stated.

"Astrid's right." Hiccup agreed."We're all important. When one of us is missing, _it's just not the same._ _"_

 _"_ _And we can't just kick someone out because they slow us down." Hicca said._

"It's your fault. You made him quit!" Snotlout said.

"Last I check, you were the one whining about how Fishlegs and Meatlug were slowing us down, unless you want to correct me?" Raeda challenged.

Snotlout knew better.

Gobber and Fishlegs arrived back at the forge where the villagers waited. Meatlugs' eyes widened when she saw all the rocks they brought. "She's so excited, she doesn't know where to start." Fishlegs noted.

"May I suggest a little sandstone appetizer?" Gobber suggested, picking up one of the tossed the stone to Meatlug, who ate it right up. Immediately she barfed up some lava.

"Good girl." Fishlegs said as Gobber went to work with the lava.

However, instead of producing Gronckle Iron, he produced glass.

"Worthless." He said, throwing the glass away."Let's try again."He then looked through the rocks again and picked up another one. "Oh, I like this one. Shiny, like Gronckle iron." He tossed it to Meatlug to eat. A few seconds later, the temperature in the forge seems to be increasing.

"Is it getting hot in here?" Fishlegs wondered.

"Now that you mention it." Gobber said, wiping some sweat from his forehead. They then noticed Meatlug turning red. "She's gonna burst! Tickle her! Tickle her before she blows us all to Valhalla!" Gobber urged, panicking.

"I'm... ow! I'm... I'm trying." Fishlegs said as he tried to rub her belly with the feather without getting burnt."Ow! Aah!" He finally managed to tickle her, causing the dragon to barf up the rock. Sighing, Fishlegs got up and turned to the crowd outside the forge."Whoops. Sorry, everyone. False alarm. I'm open to suggestions."

Unfortunately, that seemed to have sparked an angry protest.

"This is outrageous!"

"Something must be done!"

 _"_ _What a joke."_

"Useless."

"Should melt it all down."

Not very helpful suggestions.

The teens made their way through the crowd to find Fishlegs. "There he is." Astrid spotted."What are we gonna do?"

"I could pound on him until he agrees to come back." Snotlout said, punching his palm.

"Or we could just ask him." Hiccup said.

"What's wrong with the pounding?" Tuffnut asked."I like pounding. I like pound cake. _I like measuring my weight in pounds."_

Hiccup tried jumping up to get Fishlegs attention. "Fishlegs!"

 _Unfortunately that seemed to have started a chant in the crowd. "Fishlegs! Fishlegs! Fishlegs!"_

"You know, I once saw a Viking mob turn on one of their own. Tore the poor sot limb from limb. Started just like this." Gobber said.

Oh Gobber, you and your attempts to help…

"It's just that Meatlug ate so many different rocks. I can't figure it out." Fishlegs said, starting to panic. He then got an idea."Wait, that's it." He then grabbed a few rocks and turned to the crowd."Hold on to your tunics, folks. You want the Gronckle iron? You got the Gronckle iron." He announced, causing the crowd to cheer.

"I like your enthusiasm in the face of dismemberment." Gobber said as Fishlegs walked to Meatlug."I hope for your sake you're backing it up with a plan."

"Oh, I am. It must have been a combination of rocks that made Gronckle iron. That's the only explanation." Fishlegs said as he fed Meatlug number of different rocks.

"Never seen a boulder she didn't like, eh?" Gobber commented.

A few seconds of waiting and Meatlug didn't do anything. Instead, Fishlegs and Gobber heard a strange humming sound. "Okay. Something's happening." Fishlegs said.

Suddenly the hammer that Gobber was holding onto flew out of his hand and attached itself onto Meatlug. "Whoa! Did you see that? Pulled it right out of my hands!" The blacksmith said in shock.

It wasn't just the hammer. Other metallic objects began flying right onto Meatlug, much to the poor dragon's confusion. "Her skin is attracting the metal." Fishlegs said, an observation that was really unfortunate for a dragon in a place filled with metal. Poor Meatlug began panicking when more and more metal starting hitting her from every direction."Whoa! Stay calm, girl. Just stay calm. Daddy's here. It's okay." Fishlegs soothed, trying to calm her down.

"Fishlegs!" Gobber yelled, warning the boy of the incoming prosthetics coming at them.

Terrified, Meatlug started running away."No, no, no, no. Oh, no, no, no. Meatlug, no! _Meatlug, come back! Come back!" Fishlegs shouted as he watched his dragon being chased by flying metals._ He then decided to run after her. " _Listen to the sound of my voice. I'm here. Come back."_

 _They ran around the village with the flying metals following Meatlug._

 _Two plasma blasts deflected some of the metals._

"Nice shot, guys." Hiccup said to Toothless and Midnight.

"Never thought we would ever had to deal with flying weapons." Hicca commented. Her new staff then flew out of the saddle and followed Meatlug along with the other metals. "My staff!"

"Hicca, Hiccup, you two have to help Meatlug!" Fishlegs exclaimed running up to them.

"What's wrong with her?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know. She's attracting metal. She's really scared." Fishlegs explained.

"Okay, Snotlout, we got to herd her away from town." Hiccup instructed.

"On it!" Snotlout replied, steering Hookfang close to Meatlug.

Fishlegs continued to run after Meatlug. "Meatlug, come to daddy!"

"You're all mine, Meaty." Snotlout said as he flew Hookfang closer.

"Stop! Cease! Please? Wait! Stop! Heel!" Fishlegs ordered desperately.

That didn't catch Meatlugs' attention but it did get Hookfangs' attention.

 _'_ _Yes, sir!'_ Hookfang said, coming to an abrupt halt facing Fishlegs. This caused Snotlout to fly off and crashed into a wheelbarrow.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout said exasperated."I meant to do that, you know." He said to Hiccup and Hicca who flew by. He then noticed the Terrible Terror on his chest."Aah!"

"What now, bro?" Hicca asked.

"Let's try getting ahead and cutting her off. _This way." Hiccup suggested as he guided the group._

 _They were able to lure Meatlug to the edge of a cliff. Still scared Meatlug, slowly inched back._ The Haddock twins got off from their dragons and slowly approached Meatlug with their hands up " _Meatlug. Hey, girl._ It's us. Remember us? Your old pals, Hiccup and Hicca." Hiccup said gently.

"You're okay Meatlug. We're here to help you." Hicca soothed.

Their words didn't help at all as Meatlug continued to walk back, getting ready to fly away.

Hiccup caught on to that. "No, no, no, no. Easy. Easy, girl. _We're here to help you."_

"Hiccup! Hicca!" Fishlegs shouted running to the twins.

"Not now, Fishlegs." Hiccup dismissed.

"No, no, you don't understand." Fishlegs pleaded.

"Can it wait?" Hicca asked.

"It can't! It's metal, your leg!" As soon as Fishlegs said that, Hiccup fell to the ground with his prosthetic metal leg facing Meatlug. The realisation then came to him and his sister.

"Oh. Gotcha." Hiccup said.

"Uh-oh." Hicca muttered just before Hiccup was pulled towards Meatlug, his prosthetic attaching itself onto Meatlugs' stomach.

Then Meatlug decided to take off.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Fishlegs shouted as Toothless warbled at his human leaving him.

 _"_ _Absolutely no idea!" Hiccup shouted back, hanging upside down._

 _"_ _This feels like deja vu." Hicca commented. "Come on, we need to follow them!" She then went to saddle up on Midnight_

Fishlegs turned to Toothless who has a determined look in his eyes. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked nervously. He wasn't too keen on flying the fastest dragon in the Archipelago.

"Fishlegs, you have to. Toothless can't fly on his own." Hicca said before she and Midnight took off.

Fihslegs gulped. "All right, Toothless." He said, getting on the saddle."Let's just not break any speed records, okay? Just give me the 'night' without the 'fury.' Okay. This looks like it could present a..." As soon as Fishlegs put his foot on the stirrup, Toothless took off."Oh, no... problem! Too much fury! Too much fury!" They managed to catch up to Hicca and Midnight.

"See this isn't so bad, is it." Hicca asked.

"I'll get back to you when my head stops spinning." Fishlegs replied dizzily. He then shook his head and got a determined look. "Daddy's coming, Meatlug. He may be barfing, but he's coming."

"How to we get close to them without Meatlug running off?" Hicca asked.

"I know where to go." Fishlegs answered."Let's get in close." They dived below Meatlug, being careful to follow her path."Easy now. She's gonna go left here. Stay in her blind spot. Okay, now right. Dive! Good job. Level off." They leveled off and were now just below Hiccup's eye level.

"Hey." Hiccup greeted awkwardly.

"Hey." Fishlegs greeted back.

"Hey." Hicca repeated.

"How's it going?" Hiccup asked.

"Fine." Hicca replied.

"Better than expected." Fishlegs said. He then tried to tickle Meatlugs' stomach with the feather.

"Yeah, so this might be a bad time, but I really wanted to say sorry for leaving you behind the other day." Hiccup said.

"Hiccup." Fishlegs started to say.

"I know. I know. You volunteered, but still I should have..."

"Hiccup, I'm trying to concentrate here." Fishlegs said.

"You can apologize later when you don't have blood rushing to your head." Hicca suggested.

"Oh, right, sorry." Hiccup said, before he noticed something in the distance. "Wait!"

"Seriously, can we talk about our feelings later?" Fishlegs asked.

"No, look!" Hiccup pointed.

Hicca and Fishlegs followed Hiccups' line of sight and saw the Outcast ship, the one they spent so much time looking for.

And before they could hide, an Outcast spotted them. "Dragons off the stern!"

"I see them! Ready all catapults." Savage ordered. "Archers, on my command."

"They're getting ready to fire." Fishlegs said worriedly.

"We got to be ready to dodge and fire back." Hicca said.

Hiccups' eyes then lit up. "I've got an idea. Dive!" He said, grabbing on to Meatlugs' foot.

They flew down near the ship, with Meatlug flying ahead of Midnight and Toothless. "Ignore the big one. The heads of the Night Furies is the trophy we're taking home to Alvin." Savage ordered. "On my command. Steady. Steady. And..."

Suddenly all the metallic weapons flew out of the Outcasts hands and towards the dragon riders.

"Excellent!" Hiccup exclaimed. He then noticed the weapons flying right at them. 'Oh, right.' "Oh, not so excellent."

"I got this." Fishlegs said. He quickly tickled Meatlugs' stomach, causing her to barf up the stone, dropping all the metals right on to the Outcast ships.

 _"_ _Great job team!" Hicca cheered._

"Laugh now, fools. But he who lives by the dragon... !" Savage didn't get to finish the threat as he watch the metals fall down on his ship. "Oh, great!" The metals crash through the docks, creating holes that caused the ship to sink. "Oh, much better."

Hiccup and Fishlegs then switched back to their dragons "Oh, I missed you too." Fishlegs cooed as he hugged Meatlug.

The three teens and dragons then returned to Berk.

In the evening, Fishlegs walked nervously with Meatlug to the forge.

 _"_ _Well, if it isn't the conquering heroes." Gobber greeted, having heard the story from Hiccup and Hicca._

"Hey, Gobber." Fishlegs said.

"Ready to get back to some real work then?" Gobber asked. "I've got orders up to my skivvies."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Our responsibilities to the academy are gonna keep us pretty busy." Fishlegs said, bracing himself for Gobbers' response.

"Eh. Understandable." Gobber shrugged. "Well, in that case, I have a little something for you." He then handed Fishlegs the sword he made from Gronckle Iron.

"But that's the very first sword you made, for yourself." Fishlegs said, holding the sword.

"It is." Gobber agreed. "But anyone who drives off an Outcast ship deserves her."

"Thanks. But I didn't do it alone." Fishlegs pointed out, referring to Meatlug.

"I know. That's why I made Meatlug these fetching pair of earrings." Gobber said, giving Meatlug the same two lumps of Gronckle Iron. Meatlug gobbled it up instantly.

 _Just then Hiccup, Toothless, Hicca and Midnight flew to the forge "Fishlegs, where have you been?_ We've been looking all over the island for you. We need you!" Hiccup said urgently

"It's an emergency! Hurry up!" Hicca said.

"You hear that, girl? They need us." Fishlegs said excitedly. He immediately got on Meatlug and flew off to join his friends and teammates.


	3. The Night And The Fury

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 3: The Night And The Fury**

In the Dragon Academy, Hiccup gathered everyones' attention to the board. "Okay, gang, over here. Tomorrow's training mission was actually Astrid's idea, so I will let her explain it."

His statement caused the other teens, except for Hicca and Astrid, to groan in annoyance. Even some of the dragons were not happy with this.

"What?" Astrid asked, looking at everyone confused.

"Your training missions are so hard!" Fishlegs complained.

"They are not." Astrid argued.

"Astrid, take this from a girl who went through the Henderson style training since she was eight, you're training missions are hard." Raeda stated.

"Yeah, like hand-to-claw combat?" Fishlegs said, holding up his bandaged hand. Meatlug licked the hand to offer comfort, to which Fishlegs responded with a hug.

"Spine-Dodging?" Snotlout reminded everyone.

"Hot Lava-Swimming?" Tuffnut piped in.

"We never did that." Astrid pointed out.

"Yeah, but you should've. Way better than Hand-to-Claw Combat." Tuffnut said.

"Well, this mission is easy. Dragon Island. You just have to go from this beach on the East side to this cave on the West side." Astrid explained, pointing to the map on the board.

That seemed to be reasonable to the other teens, as they gave their agreements.

"At night." Astrid added.

That gained protests from Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs

"With no camping gear."

More protests.

"And no dragons."

Even more protests.

"Hicca you're the healer, you should ban this! This is bad for our health." Ruffnut pointed out.

"This isn't as bad compared to our other missions by Astrid." Hicca pointed out. "Plus I will provide all of you with a medical and a sheet of instructions so easy to follow that even you and Tuffnut will understand it."

"Wow that is impressive." Tuffnut commented.

"Uh, back to this mission. It's crazy! What's the point?!" Snotlout demanded.

"To work on our stealth skills and our Wild Dragon Defense." Astrid answered.

"Astrid's right. We all know how strong we are _with_ our dragons, but we have to be able to survive and defend ourselves if we ever get separated from them." Hiccup explained.

"I hate to admit this but this is probably a good idea." Raeda said.

"It is! And trust me. It'll be fun!" Astrid reassured.

She only got more complaints from Snotlout, Fishlegs and the Thorston twins.

That night, after packing what they needed and informing their parents about their mission, the teens flew off to Dragon Island.

"Okay, one of us is gonna have to skip the drill and take the dragons to the cave on the other side of the island. That way, they won't try and help us."

Suddenly a wild Nadder started attacking them, causing the teens to run for cover. Toothless, Midnight, Meatlug and Stormfly quickly fired back, sending the wild dragon away.

"Just like that." Hiccup pointed out.

"That dragon seemed to be waiting for its' cue." Hicca commented.

"So who's going to watch the dragons?"

Fishlegs saw the opportunity to get out of the mission and took it. "Well, I think the obvious choice is-"

"Me!" Tuffnut cut in.

"But I have more dragon knowledge!" Fishlegs protest.

"Yeah from a book! But I, I feel them in here." Tuffnut said, holding his hand to his heart. But he then hesitated. "No wait, it feels more here." He said, lowering his hand to his stomach. "Yeah, in my stomach. Besides, I did say 'me' first."

"I can't believe I'm saying this but Tuffnut is right." Hiccup said. Fishlegs no one can argue with your dragon knowledge. But if Alvin attacks with wild dragons, we need to be able to face them any time of the day on our own, without any help."

"I hate it when you make sense." Fishlegs grumbled defeated. Tuffnut snickered and nudged the Ingerman boy in the stomach.

The other seven dragon riders said their goodbyes to their respective dragons and headed out, each armed with a weapon and Hiccas' medical kit.

As they walked off, Toothless and Midnight went after their humans, trying to convince them to let them come.

"No, no, no, no Toothless." Hiccup said as his dragon nudged him. "You have to stay here with Tuffnut. I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's in charge."

"Same goes with you Midnight." Hicca said to her dragon. She then got closer to her dragon and spoke in a whisper. "Besides, someone has to make sure Tuffnut does his job properly."

"That's right, you two heard that. Boss man, head honcho, the big… boss honcho guy." Tuffnut declared proudly.

"Case in point, Midnight." Hicca said, before walking away with the other teens.

"Hey, anyone knows where the cave is?" Tuffnut asked, causing the other teens to stop and look at the blonde with incredulously. "Just messing with you. Or am I? Even I don't know." Tuffnut said, before leading the dragons to what hopefully will be the right path to the cave.

"Remember, this is about stealth, not speed. It doesn't matter how fast you get there. What's important is how you handle a wild dragon if you ever come across one." Hiccup said.

"If you use what you learned from Dragon Flight Club, you should be fine. And your medical kit is filled with supplies for any possible situation. Read and follow the instructions accordingly and you should be fine." Hicca said. "Understand?"

Astrid, Raeda, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Ruffnut all nodded.

"Alright, good luck everyone. I'll see you back at the cave." Hiccup said and at that Astrid, Raeda, Ruffnut and Snotlout began walking.

"Good luck, bro." Hicca said.

"You too, sis." Hiccup said back. The two twins hugged, before Hicca started walking as well.

Hiccup was about to go too, when he noticed Fishlegs still standing there.

"This is just great." Fishlegs muttered. He looked up and saw Hiccup still there, looking at him. "What? I'm formulating a plan."

"Fishlegs you can do this." Hiccup encouraged, before he too started walking.

"Oh man. I should have stayed behind in my warm comfy bed with Meatlug peacefully licking my toes. But no!" Fishlegs complained to himself.

"Moved out, Fishlegs!" Hiccup ordered.

"Don't rush me! I'm having a moment!" Fishlegs yelled back.

Fortunately, Tuffnut managed to guide all the dragons into the right cave.

"Alright, who's up for an all-nighter?" Tuffnut asked excitedly. Ignoring the lack of response, he continued. "You guys are going to love my ghost stories."

Not wanting to stay around to listen to ghost stories, Midnight and Toothless tried to sneak out of the cave to look for their humans. Who knows what kind of the danger the twins have already gotten themselves into.

But just as they were close to the exit, Tuffnut spotted them. "Uh, uh, uh, uh, not so fast Mr. and Mrs. Night Furies. Remember the mission, no dragons and that means the two of you. Besides, I'm in charge." Tuffnut said.

Reluctantly the two dragons walked back inside the cave, but Toothless, feeling annoyed, hit the blonde boy with his tail, sending Tuffnut flying into a stalactite. "I knew that was coming." Tuffnut said as he hung from the stalactite by the horn on his helmet. "Li-little help here? Help out your boss honcho?"

Midnight decided to give that help in the form of a plasma blast towards the stalactite, causing Tuffnut to fall.

Outside, Astrid ran into her first obstacle, a Deadly Nadder. She smiled, knowing her luck.

"Okay, a wild Nadder, should be simple." She said to herself as she approached the Nadder. "Move to its' blind-spot." She moved right in front of the Nadders' snout, keeping herself parallel to the snout. Knowing that someone was in front of it but unable to see, the Nadder raised its tail, ready to shoot. "Playing the spine game, huh?" Astrid said to the Nadder, still calm. The Nadder shot multiple spines at Astrid, who managed a cartwheel to avoid all of them.

"So what do you want to do now?" Astrid challenged the Nadder, putting her hands on her hips. The Nadder decided to leave, allowing Astrid to continue on her path.

'This is so easy.' Astrid thought to herself. 'What problem could the others possibly find with this exercise?'

Snotlout sauntered along his path with his sword in hand. "Snotlout Jorgenson, super viking." He said to himself while waving his sword. He then decided to relax on top on a log that was above a river. "At home in the wilderness-" He was interrupted when the log snapped, sending Snotlout down the river.

The Jorgenson boy managed to pull himself out, only to see a nearby bush move a little. With his sword in his hand, he prepared himself. "Alright, bring it on wild dragons. I'm ready for you." Out of the bushes emerged a few Terrible Terrors. Snotlout didn't seemed fazed by this, despite his history with Terrible Terrors. "Okay, you want some of this? You want a piece of Snotlout? Bring it on you little-" He seemed to have aggravated the Terrors enough as they flew right into Snotlout, attacking him with enough for to push him back into the sea.

Meanwhile Raeda just managed to free herself from a Thunderdrums' sonic attack. "Farther the distance, the less the effective the roar is." She said to herself. She shot an arrow at a tree far away from her, causing the tree to shake a little. That caught the Thunderdrums' attention, causing it to fly off in a different direction. Raeda sighed in relief and hurried onto her path.

Ruffnut was walking along her trail, when runs into a wild Monstrous Nightmare. "Monstrous Nightmare, fast at straight line, bad at turns!" Ruffnut recalled, although she didn't find any help with those facts. "It's probably more afraid of me then I am of him. Right?" She said to the Monstrous Nightmare, who just growled. "Nope, I'm definitely more afraid." With that she ran off with the Monstrous Nightmare chasing her.

She passed a tree, only to turn three-sixty degrees around it and run right back to the Monstrous Nightmare. She turned and ran again, only to do the same action and once again face the Monstrous Nightmare. "It's like he's inside my head!" She yelled still running.

Meanwhile, Hicca found herself face to face with another wild Nadder. The Nadder closed in on her, sniffing to see if she was a threat. She took that opportunity to scratch the dragon under its chin, causing it to fall asleep on the ground. She quietly walked around it and walked away.

Fishlegs was walking along his path, grumbling along the way. "I'm cold and miserable." His ranting was cut off by the sound of bushes moving. "What was that? Who's there?" Fishlegs called out.

He waited a few seconds more before continuing to walk. "Thank you, Astrid. My death will be on your hands."

What he didn't notice was that he just passed a Typhoomerang. The Typhoomerang rose its' head and looked at Fishlegs, mentally plotting.

A few seconds later, Fishlegs screamed as he ran away from the attacking dragon.

Hiccup spotted a couple of Gronckles in his path and immediately threw some nearby rocks at them. As expected, the Gronckles went to eat the rocks, not paying attention to Hiccup at all. "Quartz, you guys are so predictable."

He continued onto his path until he spotted some smoke in the distance. "What? How is that stealthy?" Hiccup asked sighing in annoyance. This is not part of the exercise. He then made his way to the campfire, preparing a lecture for whoever was responsible for the fire, most probably either Ruffnut or Snotlout.

Meanwhile in the cave, Tuffnut was in the middle of telling them one of his ghost stories, but the dragons don't really seem interested in it not that Tuffnut noticed.

"Scratch, scratch…who stole my golden hook? Scratch, scratch…" Tuffnut said, creeping around. "And he turned around and he said 'YOU DID'!" At the last two words, Tuffnut spun and pointed to Meatlug, who just stared at him in confusion.

Tuffnut looked around at the lack of enthusiasm in the cave. "Tough gig." He said to himself.

When Tuffnut, turned his back, Toothless saw this as an opportunity and slowly crept out of the cave. Midnight noticed this and decided to follow him. Toothless looked back for any sign of Tuffnut before looking ahead of him again, only to be face to face with Tuffnut to the Night Fury's surprise.

"Going somewhere?" Tuffnut asked with his arms crossed. Defeated, Toothless walked back into the cave with Midnight following him.

"Look I get it you're worried about your other half." Tuffnut said sympathetically. "I feel your pain. Well, not really. I kind of like seeing Ruffnut in imminent danger. There was this one time she was on fire and I just watched her running around. Anyway, you can beat me with your tail, you can barbeque me with a plasma blast, you can lightly massage my neck and shoulder. You really could, I need it." Tuffnut said rubbing his shoulder. "But I will not shirk my responsibilities to the-"

He stopped ranting when he noticed that all the dragons have fallen asleep while he was talking. "Sleeping? You're all sleeping." Tuffnut noted before shrugging and yawned. "That's actually not a bad idea."

Soon he also fell asleep.

Hiccup arrived at the source of the fire and looked around the camp site. "Alright come on out, whoever you are. And I'll go easy on you." He said.

Suddenly he was tackled to the ground! He looked up and saw none other than Dagur the Deranged, chief of the Berserker tribe. "Dagur?"

Said Berserker chief dropped his guard when he realized who it was. "Hiccup, old friend. You're alive!" He said pulling Hiccup into a bear hug.

"Uh, last I checked." Hiccup said nervously. Dagur on an island full of dragons, including his, his twin and the other teens dragons spelled trouble. "So, uh, haven't seen you since-"

"Since you and your sister saved me from that dragon attack back on Berk." Dagur finished. "You two fought off two Night Furies! You went like bam, wham!" He swung his sword for emphasis. "And then you were all 'Dagur save yourself! And I was like 'What?! Okay, I'm outta here!' But you two stayed and then both of you must've-" He suddenly stopped and narrowed his eyes at Hiccup. "So what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Hiccup repeated, trying to think of a good excuse.

"Don't answer that. I know exactly why you're here." Dagur said. "You're here for the same reason I am. You're here to hunt dragons."

Hiccup internally breathed a sigh of relief before speaking. "Okay, you got me. That's what I'm here for."

"Though I'm a little surprise you're here without your twin." Dagur said.

"Oh yeah, well I figured this should be a solo mission and Hicca understood." Hiccup said shrugging.

"So what did happen to those two Night Furies?" Dagur asked.

"Oh, bad news they got away." Hiccup lied.

"That's great news!" Dagur said excitedly, grabbing Hiccup by his shoulders.

"I-It is?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

"Yes. New plan, the two of us are going to hunt down the unholy offsprings of lightning and death. We are going to take down those Night Furies once and for all!" Dagur said, getting more and more excited.

"Uh, okay." Hiccup said awkwardly, although he was panicking in his mind. How was he going to get himself and the others out of this?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Dagur pulled him to the ground and started howling like a wolf. "Come on, howl with me! It's fun!"

Reluctantly, Hiccup joined in, giving out weak howls.

After a bit of howling the two boys decided to sit on the logs. "You know, Hiccup. Ever since I left Berk, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you and Hicca." Dagur confessed.

"Oh…that's kind of strange." Hiccup commented. "Well, I-I'm flattered."

"Not you two personally, you two and those Night Furies! It's like both of you knew those dragons. You two were inside their heads, rattling their cages and that, my muscularly challenged friend, that's when I decided I needed to know dragons too. So I came here and I learned about the dragons one by one."

Dagur then picked up a Nadder spine from behind the log. "The Deadly Nadder, got this in the leg. It was awesome!" He then pointed to a Monstrous Nightmare skull. "The Monstrous Nightmare, not so monstrous now."

Hiccup was trying very hard not to let his disgust show.

"And don't even get me started on the Gronckle." Dagur said, picking up a meat leg.

Hiccup's eyes widened in horror. "I-Is that?" He asked, pointing to the meat.

Dagur understood the question and answered. "No, it's yak." He said, to Hiccups' relief. "Anyway, those big boys are quicker than you think."

Suddenly a dragon roar was heard, causing Dagur to go on the defense and hold out a crossbow.

"Whoa. Nice crossbow." Hiccup commented.

"My hunting weapon of choice." Dagur explained. "You carry-" He paused when he noticed Hiccups' weapon. "Hmm, just a shield."

"Yep, just a shield. Just a plain, ordinary shield." Hiccup said patting his shield, being careful not to press any of the triggers.

"Very ornate." Dagur commented. "My sister had one like that. I never felt the need to hide."

He then gave another maniacal laugh looking for something to shoot.

"So exactly how long have you been on this island?" Hiccup asked.

"A couple of days, weeks maybe." Dagur answered with a shrug. "It's all a blur. Hard to tell when you're on the hunt." He grabbed Hiccup by the back of his head and made him look forward. "Eyes front little man."

"Hey, maybe you should take a break." Hiccup suggested.

"Not until I get those two Night Furies! I know they're on this island, Hiccup. I can feel it, right here." He said, placing a hand on his chest. He then went to Hiccup, took his hand and placed it on his chest. "You feel it too, don't you Hiccup?" Dagur asked.

"I, uh, I-I just feel awkward." Hiccup said, trying to get his hand out.

Dagur let go of his hand and gave out a laugh. "Y-you certainly bring the funny out Hiccup. I'll give you that." Dagur said. "I'm going to grab my gear and then we are going to get us two Night Furies, brother."

"Brother?" Hiccup repeated.

"Yep, you and me." Dagur said, before he went to gather his gear.

"And the awkwardness continues." Hiccup muttered to himself.

Soon the two boys were out in the forest on their hunt. Dagur suddenly heard a noise. "Shh, that could be them." He said, pointing the crossbow in the direction of the noise.

"No that sound is too big." Hiccup pointed out.

His point was proven when the figure revealed to be a Monstrous Nightmare.

"You're right." Dagur said, but then he aimed the crossbow at the Monstrous Nightmare. "I'm taking it down anyway, just for fun." Hiccup shoved the crossbow in a different direction, allowing the Monstrous Nightmare to escape. Dagur glared at Hiccup. "How. Dare. You."

"I-I had to. The Night Fury would have smelled it." Hiccup said quickly.

"They can do that?" Dagur asked, surprised.

"Oh, yes. Oh, excellent sense of smell. It would have sense the danger and fled." Hiccup explained.

"Look at us! You this little runt of a…well, you know what you are, and me, Dagur the Deranged. Who would have thought we would make such a formidable team?"

"Not me, that's for sure." Hiccup answered.

"Let's move out!"

Back in the cave, Tuffnut and the dragons were still sleeping.

"Give it back, it's my blanket." Tuffnut said in his sleep, grabbing at the air.

Toothless and Midnight opened their eyes and saw the Thorston boy fast asleep. They took this opportunity to escape and look for Hiccup and Hicca. Hookfang, Meatlug, Sparkfire and Stormfly also decided to leave the cave to look for their riders. After a little debate, Barf and Belch decided to also leave to look for Ruffnut, figuring Tuffnut would be safe if he stayed asleep in the cave.

A few moments after they left, Tuffnut suddenly jerked awake. "Huh, what a great dream- What?!" Tuffnut suddenly noticed the empty cave. "Oh, really? That's how you're going to do me? I don't think so." Tuffnut said to the empty cave. He then ran out to look for the missing dragons. "Oh, it's on dragons. It's so on."

Hiccup and Dagur continued on their dragon hunt. Dagur heard another noise and pulled Hiccup behind a boulder. "Shh! Shh! Listen!" Dagur whispered to Hiccup. "Smaller this time. Could be the two Night Furies!" Dagur said with excitement.

"It sounds more like a wild yak to me." Hiccup said, mentally hoping that it was one.

Dagur still kept the crossbow pointed at the bush ready to fire. Hiccup eyed the crossbow, getting ready to knock it out of the way again.

Out of the bushes came, not a Night Fury or a yak, but Snotlout Jorgenson!

"Eh, close enough." Hiccup said with relief.

Snotlout spotted Hiccup and became relieved. "Hiccup! Oh, I am glad to see you! You can not believe what I have been through! This place is crawling with dragons!"

"Yeah, I know. It's called _Dragon Island_." Hiccup pointed out.

Snotlout then noticed that they weren't alone. "Dagur! What are you doing here?"

The Berserker teen rolled his eyes, frustrated to have not found those Night Furies yet. "Snot-hat is it?" He asked, not caring if he got it right or not.

"Snot _lout_ , it's Snotlout." Snotlout corrected.

"I thought you said you were alone." Dagur said to Hiccup.

Hiccup quickly thought of a cover-up. "I-I thought I was." He turned to Snotlout. "Snotlout, you were supposed to be back at base camp."

"What?" Snotlout said confused.

"While I was out hunted dragons?" Hiccup said, hoping his cousin would take the hint.

Unfortunately, Snotlout didn't. "While you're doing what in the where?"

"Not the sharpest arrow in the quiver, is he?" Dagur said, trying to look for signs of the Night Furies.

"Not even close." Hiccup sighed. He couldn't help but agree with the deranged boy on that. As soon as the Berserker chief had his back to the other two boys, Hiccup whispered to Snotlout. "Play along; we cannot let Dagur know about our dragons. He'll take them home and mount them on his wall." Hiccup warned.

Snotlout finally got what was going on. "Wait, you mean-"

Meanwhile Tuffnut was still on the hunt to find the dragons. He smiled when he found fresh Zippleback tracks. "Hmmm, Zippleback prints." He followed the trail and sure enough he found a sleeping Zippleback at the end of the trail. Thinking it was his and Ruffnuts' dragon, Tuffnut went to the dragon and gave it a kick, waking it up. "Okay, back in the cave!" He ordered.

However when the Zippleback turned to look at him, the Thorston boy realized that they weren't Barf and Belch. And they definitely weren't happy to be woken up like that.

"Oh, I, uh, thought you were someone else." Tuffnut said, before running when the wild Zippleback started firing at him. The Zippleback continued to chase him. "Look, it's a simple misunderstanding." Tuffnut said, but the Zippleback didn't listen as it continued to fire at him.

Tuffnut then saw a tree ahead and got an idea. He ran to the tree and passed and sure enough, one Zippleback head went to one side of the tree and the other head went to the other side. This caused its' body to slam into the tree, stopping the Zippleback.

Feeling triumphed, Tuffnut turned back to the Zippleback. "Ha, ha! Tuffnut one, Zippleback zero." He immediately started running again when the rogue dragon let out some more explosive gas.

The other dragons made sniffed out their riders scent, splitting up from the group to pursue their own scents. Midnight and Toothless found their riders scent but faced a dilemma. Hiccup and Hicca have similar scents, which makes it hard for the Night Furies to differentiate. And judging from the trail, the Haddock twins have split up which confuses the Night Furies. Why would those two wander off on their own? They're on Dragon Island! They need to stick together.

Midnight looked at Toothless. _'You take this trail I'll take the other one. At least the trails will lead us to them.'_ She warbled.

 _'_ _I agree, be safe.'_ Toothless warbled back, nuzzling his mates' neck.

Fishlegs, unaware of what's going on, continues on his path. After his encounter with the Typhoomerang, the blonde boy made sure to keep a look out in every direction. He started walking backwards, which made him unable to see Snotlout walking towards him in the same manner. As soon as both their backs touch, the two boys jumped back, getting into a screaming match (even though, they've already seen each other).

The two of them eventually calmed down when they realized who they were with and Hiccup and Dagur then joined them.

"Fishlegs, would you look who it is. It's Dagur, who is out hunting dragons like the rest of us." Hiccup said quickly, hoping that the Ingerman boy could pick up on the hidden message and play along.

"Yes, we are dragon hunters out hunting." Snotlout piped in.

"Hiccup, you're definition of alone and mine are very different." Dagur stated, wondering how they keep running into at least one of Hiccups' friend at every turn. He then remembered Fishlegs vast knowledge on dragons and put his hand on the blonde boys' face. "But, perhaps this one can help us-."

"Hunt dragons!" Snotlout cut in, trying to hint to Fishlegs again. "Cause that's what we are doing. Hunting."

"Dragons." Hiccup emphasized.

"Ok, got it." Fishlegs said to Hiccup and Snotlout.

Dagur shrugged at the three boys and walked ahead of the group. He stopped when he saw movement in the bushes.

"This one's mine!" He yelled, jumping straight into the bushes.

Hiccup, Snotlout and Fishlegs hurriedly ran to join Dagur, thinking of ways to pry whichever dragon Dagur had pinned. Much to the three boys, however, they saw that Dagur didn't attack a dragon, but one pissed off Raeda Henderson. And it wasn't Dagur who had Raeda pinned down, but the other way round.

"Seriously?!" Dagur exclaimed, face muffled by the ground.

Raeda just realized who she got on the ground. "Dagur?!" She released her hold allowing Dagur to get up.

"Seriously, Hiccup! Is there anyone you haven't left back your base camp?!" Dagur demanded, marching up to the smaller boy.

"Base camp?" Raeda muttered, luckily in a low voice so that Dagur couldn't hear.

"I-I don't know. I thought I was alone." Hiccup lied. Of all the places on this island, the others seemed to be walking close by them. Luck didn't seem to be on his side. He then turned to Raeda. "Rae, I thought I made it clear to you guys to stay at camp, while I go out to _hunt dragons._ "

Raeda, realizing what is going on, quickly came to Hiccups' aid. "Yeah, you said that but come on. Killing a dragon, you know no one can pass up that opportunity"

"Well, I guess I can't fault any of you for that." Dagur shrugged. "Fine, you can come as well, but stay out of my way."

He walked ahead of the group just as Raeda was about to pounce on him for that last sentence. Hiccup stopped her in time and the four of them followed Dagur.

"You know we're a lot alike, Hiccup." Dagur said, while they were walking.

"I beg to differ." Raeda said.

"How are we alike?" Hiccup asked, agreeing with Raeda.

"We're both born leaders." Dagur pointed out.

"He's right about that." Fishlegs said.

"We're both sons of chiefs." Dagur listed.

"That is true." Hiccup commented.

"Who had to be eliminated so we could gain control." Dagur continued.

Hiccup was about to agree to that before he realized exactly what Dagur said. "What? No! My dad hasn't been eliminated from anything!"

"But he could be, easily." Dagur said. "Just say the word and-" He finished the sentence by shooting an arrow through the crossbow, which flew passed Snotlout, Fishlegs and Raeda and hit a tree. The three of them just look between the arrow and Hiccup with worried expressions.

"Yeah, that's-uh something to think about." Hiccup lied.

They then heard rustling in the bushes and became quiet. Dagur slowly kneeled down and signaled the others to do so as well. Hiccup, Raeda, Fishlegs and Snotlout did so as well, passing down the signal.

Then to Snotlouts' surprise, Astrid came from nowhere and put her hand on his fisted hand. She gave him a shushing gesture. Snotlout put his other hand on her hand and was about to say something when Astrid punched him in the face and then ran back to the bushes to hide.

Unaware of what's going on behind them, the others continued to look at the source of the rustling sound. "Which one of your friends is it now, Hiccup?" Dagur said in an annoyed tone.

"It's hard to tell." Hiccup answered honestly.

Suddenly a plasma blast was fired near Dagur. The group looked up and to the horror and dismay of everyone except Dagur they saw that it was a Night Fury. But not just any Night Fury, it was Midnight!

She growled at Dagur, definitely remembering him from their last encounter. While she was disappointed that she didn't find Hiccup, she knew that she needed to protect Hiccup and knew that her mate would do the same for Hicca when he finds her.

"The Night Fury!" Dagur gasped. "Hiccup, my brother, you have done it! You've led me straight to it!"

Hiccup could only look in horror as Midnight stood there, no idea to the danger she led herself into as Dagur aimed a crossbow at the female Night Fury.

"Arrow meet Dragon. Dragon meet arrow." Dagur said, getting ready to fire.

Hiccup needed to think of something fast. "No, no, Dagur wait! I would like to do it."

It seemed to work "But I saw it first!" Dagur argued.

"Yeah, but I led you to her-I mean it." Hiccup countered, taking the crossbow from Dagur.

"But I brought that crossbow." Dagur argued back, snatching back the crossbow. "All you brought is that stupid ornate shield.

Dagur aimed the crossbow again, but before he could fire a pack of Terrible Terrors suddenly flew in, blocking Dagurs' view. This caused the deranged teen to fire at another direction, missing Midnight.

While Dagur was distracted, Hiccup signaled Midnight to run away. Luckily, Midnight followed the order.

"What's wrong with you, I almost had those Terrible Terrors." Astrid said angrily, joining the group.

"Terror, schmerrors. Can't you see we're out hunting Night Furies." Dagur retorted, angered and annoyed on narrowly missing out an opportunity to kill a Night Fury. He turned to Hiccup. "Couldn't you make one person stay behind on Berk."

"Very funny, Dagur." Hiccup replied weakly as Dagur walked away.

"Did he say 'Hunting a Night Fury'?" Astrid whispered to Hiccup.

"Yep, that's exactly what he said." Hiccup whispered back.

"But Midnight is-"

"I know, and if she is loose then so are the other dragons. You guys need to find Ruff, Tuff and Hicca. If Midnight is with me then hopefully Toothless is with my sister. Find the other dragons and get out of here.

"Hiccup, do you really think Hicca and Toothless are going to leave you and Midnight with that psycho?" Raeda pointed.

"I know, hopefully by that time I'll be able to free Midnight from Dagur and join you guys." Hiccup said. "Don't worry, though. Dagur won't hurt me, I'm his brother."

Before Raeda or Astrid could say anything else, Dagur came and put his arm around Hiccups' shoulders. "Come on, Hiccup. While the trail is still fresh." Dagur said, leading Hiccup away.

"I can't hunt with an entourage." Hiccup said. "Go back to Berk. Leave us to our business."

Snotlout spoke us as soon as the two boys were gone. "Well that's just great. How are we supposed to find our dragons?"

Fishlegs spotted something that made him reply. "Actually that won't be to difficult." He then pointed to a direction behind Snotlout.

Snotlout, Astrid and Raeda turned and saw Meatlug, Hookfang, Sparkfire and Stormfly right there, having followed their humans scent.

Meanwhile, Midnight continued to fly away, being chased by Dagur and Hiccup.

"I don't get it. Why won't it stay and fight?" Dagur asked, frustrated to not have gotten the Night Fury yet.

"Maybe it wants us to follow it." Hiccup suggested.

"You mean a trap?" Dagur asked.

"Exactly, maybe we should head back."

Dagur didn't seem deterred "Oh, brother. Don't you know that a trappers' trap can trap a trapper?"

"What does that even mean?"

"I don't know!" Dagur said giving a maniacal laugh before he continued to chase after Midnight with Hiccup following him.

Tuffnut was still out looking for the other dragons. He stopped when he saw a Zippleback sleeping. Thinking that this was the same Zippleback he encountered earlier, the blonde quietly snuck up to the dragon.

"The Tuffnut sneaks on the Zippleback to teach him a lesson." Tuffnut said quietly as he snuck up to the dragon.

He got taken by surprise, however, when he got a sudden kick to the rear.

"What are you doing here?" Ruffnut asked crossing her arms.

"I was…uh… looking for you. Yeah, I thought you might be lost so I came to save you." Tuffnut lied.

"Yeah, right." Ruffnut said, not believing her brothers' lie for one second.

"Tuffnut!" A voice called and the Thorston twins turned to see Hicca walking towards them, accompanied by Toothless. "Mind explaining to me what Toothless is doing out of the cave?"

"Yeah and what are Barf and Belch doing out here as well?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut looked back and saw that the Zippleback he was sneaking up on was indeed Barf and Belch. 'Oh, _now_ I find the right dragon.' He tried to come up with a good excuse. "Uh, they uh they were hungry for outdoor food." He started to explain. He saw both girls looking at him with arms crossed and eyebrows raised and caved in. "The dragons got away! There are you two happy?"

"No we're not happy. What, did you tell them your stupid ghost stories again?" Ruffnut asked.

"No." Tuffnut answered defensively. "Maybe…yes."

Hicca sighed. "Tuffnut, you had one simple job."

"Hey don't blame me, blame Mr. Night Fury here with his mind games and his partner in crime." Tuffnut said, pointing at Toothless. "Yeah, that's right I'm talking about you."

It was Ruffnuts' turn to sigh. "Come on, let's go find the others."

"We're right here." Astrid said, before anyone could take another step. "And could you guys talk any louder?"

Tuffnut decided to fulfill that request. "Yeah but why would we-" He was cut off when Astrid put her hand on his mouth.

Then Ruffnut spoke loudly. "She didn't learn any-" Again Astrid silenced her, sighing in annoyance.

"What is going on?" Hicca asked. She then noticed the absence of her brother and her dragon. "And where are Hiccup and Midnight."

Toothless warbled, also wanting to know where the two are.

"We've got a problem, Hicca." Astrid said. "Dagur is here."

"What?! Dagur?! Here on this island?" Hicca asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah, he's here, hunting dragons." Raeda spoke up. "And he's got his eyes set on hunting Night Furies in particular."

Hicca and Toothless eyes widened. "Midnight…" Hicca trailed.

"Dagur spotted her and is after her. Hiccup is with him pretending to be a dragon hunter so that he can keep him from shooting Midnight. He wanted us to get our dragons and get out of here." Fishlegs explained.

Hicca scoffed. Her brother and her dragon are out there with an armed lunatic and Hiccup expects her to leave them? Toothless had the same thoughts. No way is he going to abandon his mate and human.

Without another word, Hicca got on Toothless and quickly latched her feet onto the stirrup. Before anyone could stop them, the duo quickly took off, looking for their other two.

"Hicca! Toothless!" Raeda exclaimed. She was about to get on Sparkfire to go with them when Astrid stopped her. "Wait, Rae. It may not be a good idea to follow them."

"Astrids' right, Night Furies have better camouflage during the night, hopefully they won't get Dagurs' attention." Fishlegs stated.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm outta here." Snotlout, who had gotten on Hookfang, said before Hookfang took off.

The others decided to go with the Jorgenson boy.

Midnight continued to fly away from Dagur. She figured it was best to completely disappear but she couldn't leave Hiccup alone with that lunatic so she stayed at a distance, trying to figure out how to get Hiccup out of there without getting shot by Dagur.

Dagur fired another arrow at Midnights' direction.

"You're not gonna hit anything with that." Hiccup said, breathless from the running.

"I know that! I'm just trying to keep her running in that direction." Dagur then lit up the second arrow and shot it in the sky.

"What was that?" Hiccup asked, getting a bad feeling.

"To be honest, Hiccup, I didn't exactly come here alone either." Dagur admitted.

Several fire lit arrows flew up in the sky.

"Dagur, Night Furies are very lethal. A few more men won't make a difference." Hiccup explained, trying to keep the relief out of his voice.

"Really? You think so?" Dagur asked, not seeming too worried. "Lucky for us, I brought the armada along and like a bazillion armed Berserkers!"

At that cue, hundreds of fire lit arrows flew at Hiccup and Dagur, causing Hiccup to shield himself

"Yeah, that might actually make a difference." Hiccup said, mostly to himself. How was he going to get himself and Midnight out of here?

"Oh, yeah. We're gonna drive that beast right to them, and _they_ can finish him off!" Dagur said with a wicked grin.

"Not exactly sporting..." Hiccup pointed out while trying to think of an escape plan.

"I don't care about sporting! I care about killing that Night Fury and wearing its skull as a helmet!" Dagur exclaimed. He continues to trail Midnight, reloading his crossbow. Midnight then finds herself trapped at the edge of a cliff between the armada and Dagur. Hiccups' watched with concerned until his concern turned into anger. There was no way he could stand here and watch Dagur kill his sisters' dragon. He may cause Berk to lose their alliance with the Berserkers, but it's better than losing Midnight.

"Okay, that's it. I am NOT going to let you kill that dragon!" He declared in annoyance.

Dagur sighed in annoyance. "This again? Fine, you saw it first you can take home a wing or something."

"No, I'm pretty much gonna take the whole thing." Hiccup stated. He then gave out his Night Fury roar. Dagur turned to him in confusion, but Midnight understood exactly what Hiccup meant. She gets charges forward roaring at Dagur, but instead of attacking him she flew to Hiccup.

Dagur then got a closer look at the female Night Fury. "Is that a-"

"-Saddle? Yes, Dagur. That's exactly what it is." Hiccup said, as he got on said saddle.

Dagur was in shock as the realization came to him. "So, I was-"

"-Right all along." Hiccup finished. "We do not hunt dragons on Berk. We ride them."

"You're father and sister lied to- _YOU_ lied to me!" Dagur exclaimed enraged.

"They was trying to keep the peace between our tribes. So was I." Hiccup explained calmly.

"By making a fool out of ME?!" Dagur demanded

"You don't need a lot of help with that Dagur." Hiccup stated with a smirk.

Dagur was about to pull out a sword to attack when Midnight stopped him by snarling at him.

"Your move." Hiccup challenged.

"You could've been my brother, Hiccup! Now, you're my enemy." Dagur declared.

"Have it your way, but remember: We have the dragons, and we are not afraid to use them." Hiccup threatened. "Let's get out of here, girl."

Hiccup and Midnight took off, ready to join the others and head back to Berk. Dagur, however, refused to be defeated. He took out a bola and threw it at Midnight. It bounded her and her wings, causing her and Hiccup to crash to the ground with Hiccup tumbling off the saddle. Midnight gave out a roar, which was cut off when another bola was flung at her mouth.

Dagur then took out his sword and charged at Midnight. Before he can get to her, Hiccup blocked him with his shield. Dagur then kicked Hiccup out of the way and proceed to kill Midnight. He was stopped again when Hiccup threw his shield at the Berserker chief. Dagur then turned his attention to the smaller teen and started throwing several daggers at him. Hiccup managed to protect himself with his shield (which somehow flew back to him). Dagur was too focused on Hiccup, giving Midnight the perfect opportunity to trip him with her tail. However. Dagur fell next to his crossbow and grins. He gets up, loads his crossbow and points it at Hiccup.

"Your move, Hiccup." Dagur challenged.

He shoots at Hiccup, who ducks behind a tree. Hiccup tries to go save Midnight, but he was stopped when Dagur shot a few more arrows, causing the Haddock boy to take cover again. The deranged teen then points the crossbow at Midnight and shoots at her, but the female Night Fury managed to roll herself out of the way. Dagur then turns back to Hiccup. "You can't hide forever!" He shouted.

"I don't plan to." Hiccup answered. He turns his shield into a makeshift crossbow and shoots an arrow at Dagur. The older teen dodged it

"Nice try, brother." Dagur mocked.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not your brother! I only have two sisters; Hicca and Raeda."

Hiccup then launches a grappling hook at Dagur, only to catch a branch above the teen.

"Ha-ha-ha! You missed!" Dagur sneered.

"Did I?" Hiccup countered. He pulled his shield with all his might, tearing off the branch right on top of Dagur, trapping him.

"I have GOT to get me one of those ornate shields!" Dagur said to himself in frustration, pounding his fist to the ground.

Hiccup took this opportunity to run to Midnight and cut her binding with his knife. He started with the bindings on her mouth. Unfortunately for the auburn haired boy, Dagur managed to free himself and immediately charges at Hiccup. Hiccup sees him and manages to grab his shield before the older boy pounced at him. Hiccup was pinned to the ground, trying to push Dagur away with his shield. But Dagur was stronger and pushed back with greater force while laughing manically.

Suddenly, a plasma blast was shot at Dagur, knocking him off Hiccup. But the blast wasn't from Midnight, it was from Toothless, who was definitely not happy with what he saw, and neither was Hicca. Dagur was definitely going to pay.

"Hello, Dagur." Hicca said, as walk towards Dagur with her battle staff in her arms.

"Ah, it looks like little healer Hicca finally got herself a weapon, huh." Dagur said, with a smirk. He then took out his sword. "This will be fun." The two then engaged in combat. Luckily for Hicca, the training with Astrid on how to fight with her new staff has really paid off as she block off Dagurs' swipe and get a few jabs in.

This gave Hiccup the opportunity to get up and cut the rest of Midnights' bindings. As soon as Midnight was free. Hiccup, got a lick from Toothless, who then nuzzled his mates neck in comfort. The three of them then turned to the fighting duo. Midnight fired a plasma blast at Dagur, causing him to back away from Hicca. This allowed Hiccup and Hicca to mount their dragons. Toothless then fired a plasma blast, knocking the sword out of Dagurs' hand.

Unarmed and faced with two angry dragons, Dagur runs away screaming, only to be blasted off a cliff by Toothless and Midnight. However, he lands near his armada and runs to them. "DRAGON ATTACK! DRAGON ATTACK!" He screamed.

"That is our cue to leave." Hicca said to her brother. They flew off to joined the others before the Berserkers attacked.

"We better go now. His men are on the way." Hiccup said to the other dragon riders.

"Come on, we can take them!" Snotlout argued.

"Not today. Dagur will be back, and when he is, we'll be ready." Hiccup said.

The eight teens then flew their dragons back to Berk.

On one of Dagurs' ship, the enraged Berserker chief has just informed his men on the newest update.

"So, Berk _does_ train dragons? I should kill those runts for lying." One of the Berserkers soldier, Vorg said.

"No!" Dagur exclaimed, shoving Vorg into a mast "No one, hurts Hiccup and Hicca. NO ONE! Except me." He then releases Vorg. "And not until _after_ I have their Night Furies. And I _WILL_ have them."

Dagur looked at a map of Berk, which was taped on the wall, and stabbed it with his knife. Oh yes, this definitely won't be the last time Berk hears from Dagur the Deranged.


	4. Tunnel Vision

**A/N: Here are some responses to some of the reviews**

 **Tuthitthezebracorn: Thanks! :) I do try to give my ocs their own moments when I can. Maybe if I can get some suggestions in the review, I can come up with another original chapter for Raeda. (Credit will go to the reviewer who suggested it of course)**

 **MMM: I am planning some twists in my future stories, but maybe not Dagur falling in love with Hicca**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 4: Tunnel Vision**

"Cut him off! Make sure he doesn't escape!" Stoick ordered. He and the eight dragon riders were trying to chase after an individual who refuses to be captured.

"I didn't think he could move that fast!" Hiccup commented.

"The right motivation can make people exceed their abilities." Hicca said.

"Astrid! Raeda! He's headed your way!" Hiccup warned.

"On it!" Astrid and Raeda replied. They prepared their dragons to attack. "Stormfly/Sparkfire! Spine-shot!" The two Deadly Nadders obeyed and created a barrier, trapping the individual, who is revealed to be Gobber!

"I won't do it, Stoick, and you can't make me. None of you can't make me!" The blacksmith/ dragon dentist said defiantly.

"Keep him surrounded!" Stoick ordered to the teens, who did so giving Gobber no room to escape.

"A viking is supposed to smell this way! It's a badge of honor!" Gobber argued.

A Terrible Terror flew to Gobbers' shoulder and landed there. Once it got a whiff of the stench, however, it cringed in disgust and flew away only to fly into a pole.

While Gobber was cornered, Fishlegs and Meatlug were filling the bucket from the well. "Hurry, we've got to get that trough filled so that we can give Gobber his bath." Fishlegs said to Meatlug.

"It's for your own good Gobber." Stoick said.

"Actually it's more for the good of the village." Hiccup said, trying not to breath in the smell.

"Agree." Hicca said, wearing a healers' mask.

"Get in the trough." Stoick demanded.

Gobber still refused to listen, so the others decided to do a new tactic. Snotlout and Hookfang landed behind Gobber. "Alright, Hookfang toss him in the trough." But Hookfang, being Hookfang, decided to toss _Snotlout_ into the trough instead.

"Every. Single. Time." Snotlout growled. "Doesn't this get old for you?"

 _'_ _No.'_ Hookfang taunted.

Hiccup then came up with a plan. He signaled Toothless to sneak up around Gobber. Hiccup then signaled a message to Astrid, who seemed to have got it.

"Astrid, now!" Hiccup shouted.

Astrid and Stormfly flew up, catching Gobbers' attention. Using this opportunity, Toothless tossed Gobber right into the trough. Gobber tried to get out, but Stoick held him there. "Fishlegs, soap and water!" Stoick shouted, while restraining Gobber. Fishlegs flew above with the bucket, but only a drop of water fell out, much to Gobbers' relief. "You're going to have to do better than that, son." Stoick said.

"I can't, sir. The well…it's run dry." Fishlegs informed the chief.

Stoick, Hicca and Hiccup went to the well and saw that it has indeed run dry. "We dug that well two summers ago." Stoick said.

"There was water in here yesterday. I saw it." Hicca said.

"Water doesn't just disappear. There has to be a reason." Hiccup guessed.

"We'll have to dig up a new well." Stoick said. He then sighed, dreading to say the next part. "For now, we have to ration the water we have. Which means…"

"No more baths!" Gobber finished cheerfully, joining the group. He put a arm around the Haddock twins shoulders, much to their dismay and disgust. "Always a silver lining." He said, walking away.

"Oh no, this is not going to stand." Hicca said, taking off her mask. She went over to Raeda. "Time for Plan B, Rae."

"The lavender perfumes?" The Henderson girl asked.

"The lavender perfumes." Hicca confirmed.

"The sacrifices one must make for the good of the village." Raeda sighed. "Let's go."

Meanwhile, Hiccup gathered the other dragon riders to the Academy. "Okay, we need to figure out a way to keep Berk supplied with water until a new well can be dug." He said. He then turned to the Thorston twins. "Ruff, Tuff, strap on the trough and head up to Lars Lake to fill it up."

"Okay, but that thing's pretty big." Tuffnut commented. "I mean, it's bigger than Ruff's butt. It could take a week or two." Ruffnut took offense to that statement and responded by punching her twin in the face.

"Well, I was assuming you would use your dragon." Hiccup stated.

"And why would you assume that?" Tuffnut asked.

"Because-" Hiccup was about to explain, but then he realized who he was explaining to and decided to just move on. "Okay, moving on." He turned to Astrid and Snotlout. "Astrid, Snotlout head to the mountain streams and fill as many canteens as you can."

This gave Snotlout an idea. "Mountain streams." He said placing an arm around Astrids' shoulder. "Romantic-" He didn't get to finish that sentence because Astrid grabbed his arm and twisted it painfully.

Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, Meatlug you're going to help me figure out what happened in the well."

"You may not notice, but Meatlug doesn't do well in tight spaces." Fishlegs pointed out.

Hiccup just rolled his eyes and continued. "Okay, we've all got our assignments. Let's go."

"Wait, where are Raeda and Hicca?" Fishlegs asked.

"They are busy solving another crisis." Hiccup answered.

The six teens split up and followed their assignments. Snotlout and Astrid were at the mountain stream filling up their canteens. "You know, Astrid, I've been thinking." Snotlout started to say.

"We talked about you thinking Snotlout. It's not good for anyone." Astrid said.

Snotlout ignored the blonde girl and continued. "Who says we have to give this water away?" Snotlout asked.

"What do you mean?" Astrid questioned.

"It's simple supply and demand. Follow me." Snotlout said, picking a full vase from the basket. "The people in Berk are parched, desperate for water. And who's got all the water? Me, that's who. Ha, ha! I'm going to make a fortune with this."

"You're going to charge people for water?" Astrid asked in disbelief. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Is it? Ha!" Snotlout scoffed. "Do whatever you want, but don't ask me for a cut later."

Back in the village, Hiccup, Fishlegs and Meatlug were at the village. Hiccup was being lowered into the well by a rope tied on Meatlug with Fishlegs supervising from above.

"That's it girl. Just keep it steady." Fishlegs said to his dragon.

"Lower." Hiccup ordered. "Just a little more. Okay, hold it right there." Fishlegs signaled Meatlug to stop.

"You'll never catch me!" Gobber shouted, causing Fishlegs, Toothless and Meatlug to look and see the blonde blacksmith being chased by Hicca and Raeda on Midnight and Sparkfire. Both girls were wearing healers' masks and were holding buckets.

"You can't run forever, Gobber!" Raeda shouted back.

"You'll get tired eventually!" Hicca exclaimed.

"I will rest when I die!" Gobber yelled.

"What's going on up there?" Hiccup asked Fishlegs.

"Uh, you're twin and Raeda are chasing Gobber on their dragons and it looks like both girls are holding buckets."

"Plan B." Hiccup stated, before focusing on his own task. He shown the lantern light onto the wall and touched it. "The water level was way up here and it's still wet." He noted. He then grabbed a loose rock from the wall and dropped it. It hit the ground, but there was no splash sound made, indicating that there is no water at all. "Fishlegs, get me all the way down." He instructed.

"Are you sure? It looks awfully dark and scary down there." Fishlegs said.

"Fishlegs!"

"Okay!" Fishlegs shouted. He looked up at Meatlug. "Take him down girl."

Meatlug slowly flew down, lowering Hiccup deeper into the well. There was a slight problem however, when the Gronckle spotted a cart full of rocks. Her pupils widened and she flew towards the cart, forgetting her mission and pulling the rope into a jagged rock.

Hiccup was confused when the rope started to sway. "Wh-whoa, whoa! Fishlegs wait!"

"Steady, Meatlug!" Fishlegs called, trying to get his dragons' attention. But it fell on deaf ears as the Gronckle continued to fly towards the cart of rocks. This caused the rope to get cut from the sharp rock, dropping Hiccup into the bottom of the well. Toothless immediately jumped in the well after Hiccup.

Hiccup hit the ground hard. He got up only to get knocked back down by Toothless. "Toothless, are you okay?" Hiccup asked, getting up and rushing to his dragon. Toothless responded with a lick to Hiccups' face.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" Stoick voice boomed from above.

"We're okay, dad." Hiccup yelled.

"Hiccup!" Hiccas' voice called. She and Raeda had to stop their chase after Gobber when they lost their buckets of perfume (much to Gobber's delight). The Henderson girl has gone to get another scent while Hicca came to the well when she heard what happened.

"Hey, sis." Hiccup greeted.

"I leave you for an hour and you get stuck in a well?" The Haddock girl asked.

"Wasn't really my plan for today." Hiccup retorted.

"Can you two fly out?" Stoick asked.

"No, it's too narrow." Hiccup replied.

"Someone get me a rope. I'm coming down there." Stoick declared.

"I'm coming with you, dad." Hicca said, Midnight warbled in agreement.

"No, don't! Then all five of us will be stuck down here." Hiccup argued.

Stoick sighed, knowing his son is right. "Well, then just stay there until I find a way to bring you two back up."

"We're fine. The water had to go somewhere. Besides, I have Toothless with me. We'll find another way out." Hiccup shouted before looking around the well.

"He makes an excellent point, sir." Fishlegs piped in. "Night Furies have the uncanny ability to-" He stopped when he saw the chief glaring at him. "None of my business."

"They'll be fine, dad. They've been in tougher situations before." Hicca said with full confidence.

"Hey! I think I found something!" Hiccup yelled, looking ahead of him. "I-It looks like a…tunnel."

"Well just be careful down there, son. We'll be here on standby if you need anything." Stoick called.

"Good luck guys!" Hicca yelled.

Hiccup turned to Toothless. "Okay, bud. What do you say we find out where this tunnel leads?" The male Night Fury warbled a yes and the pair set off to the tunnel. Walking deeper into the tunnel, Hiccup suddenly got a feeling. "Uh, I don't know about you, bud. But I got a distinct feeling that we are not alone here." He and Toothless continued to look over their shoulders as they continued down there path…not noticing a baby Whispering Death flying by them.

Walking further down the tunnel, Hiccup and Toothless found even more tunnels. "Wow, these caverns run right under the village." Hiccup said in awe. The two of them continued to walk until they heard a crunch sound. They looked down and saw broken shells of dragon eggs beneath them. Hiccup picked it up and inspected it. "Dragon eggs." He noted. Toothless sniffed the shell and growled at the scent. He definitely remembers this time of dragon. Hiccup then spotted a crate nearby and saw the symbol on the crate. "That's an Outcast crest." He said, as the wheels in his mind started turning. "Toothless, light up the cave." Hiccup instructed, giving the hand signal for a plasma blast. Toothless fired a plasma blast at a nearby boulder, illuminating the cave. They both looked up and saw tunnels above them. "Those are Whispering Death tunnels." Hiccup realized. Toothless gave out a growl. "Yeah, not my favorite dragon either, bud." Hiccup looked up and saw a tunnel bigger than the other tunnels. "And I do not want to know what made that."

If there are Whispering Death tunnels under Berk….he and Toothless need to find a way out of here.

Above ground, Gobber was giving out buckets of water to the vikings who have formed a long line for it. The blonde dragon dentist also made sure to keep an eye out for Hicca and Raeda. "That's it, keep the line moving!" Gobber called out to the line. "One bucket each."

Snotlout and Astrid were giving out vases filled with water. Astrid gave a disapproving look to Snotlout, who is following through with his idea. "Water, water, water, water, water, water!" He called out. "Get you 'Snotlouts' Mountain Fresh Water' right here!" He handed a canteen of water to a woman, who gave a chicken in return. He gave a smug look to Astrid. "Ha! This is too easy! Who's dumb now, Astrid? The guy with the bug cart full of loot, or the girl with the big mouth full of hot air?"

"You're taking advantage of innocent people." Astrid said with disapproval.

"Correction; innocent, _thirsty_ people." Snotlout remarked.

"This is not what Hiccup had in mind." Astrid said.

"Yeah, well that's what makes him Hiccup and me Snotlout." Snotlout said with pride.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg." Astrid agreed. She grabbed a few canteens from Snotlouts' basket and tossed them to the vikings to take.

"Hey! You're cutting into my profit!" Snotlout complained.

Astrid just shrugged with a smirk.

Underground, Hiccup and Toothless continued to explore the tunnels, only to hit a dead end. "Oh, great." Hiccup muttered. The light from his lantern then went out. "Oh, even better." He turned to Toothless. "Toothless, would you mind?" He asked, holding up the lantern. Toothless fired a plasma blast at the lantern, lighting it up.

As soon as they got light, the duo turned to see a Whispering Death in their path!

Toothless immediately started firing plasma blasts at the Whispering Death to keep it back.

"Let's get out of here, bud." Hiccup said, as he got on the saddle.

They quickly flew through the tunnels, trying to find a way out while avoiding the Whispering Death chasing them. One Whispering Death became three as more suddenly came out of nowhere. Luckily Toothless managed to dodge all of them. Suddenly, Hiccup and Toothless realize that the Whispering Deaths are all gone. "That's weird." Hiccup muttered. He and Toothless looked through the tunnels looking for any signs of the Whispering Death but found none. A pebble fell on Toothless, causing him and Hiccup to look up and see a tunnel heading upwards. "They're heading to the village!" Hiccup realized. "We have to stop them!" Toothless immediately shot upwards.

Back above ground, unaware of the upcoming danger, Hicca, Fishlegs and Stoick remain near the well while Astrid, Gobber and Snotlout were still distributing water, or in Snotlouts case selling water.

Suddenly the ground started to shake, causing people to panic. One of the Whispering Deaths then emerged from the ground near Gustav, causing the boy to fall on the ground.

"A Whispering Death!" Hicca gasped in shock. Midnights' eyes widened at the sight of the wild dragon.

The Whispering Death looked down at Gustav and got ready to attack him.

"Stand back!" Gobber yelled to the villager before grabbing a shield. He got in front of Gustav and held the shield up, protecting the boy from the dragon. He was just in time to as the Whispering Death fired at both of them, only able to hit the shield. Gustav took the chance to escape while Gobber stayed to subdue the dragon. He kicked a nearby cart at the Whispering Death and punched and kicked the dragon, knocking it down. The Whispering Death then went underground and re-emerged next to Snotlout and his water supply.

"Hey! You break it, you buy it!" Snotlout yelled at the dragon. That caught the dragons' attention and caused it to tunnel towards Snotlout. The Jorgenson boy then realized who he was talking to. "Store's closed." Snotlout squeaked, running away.

Two more Whispering Deaths emerged from the ground. Stoick grabbed a horn and blew it to alert the rest of the villagers of the attack. He then handed the horn to a nearby Viking.

"Hold this." The chief ordered.

"What do I do with this?" The Viking asked.

"Keep blowing!" Stoick answered before running off. "Quickly, everyone! Hold a defensive line in the middle of the village!"

The Vikings grabbed their weapons and followed their chiefs' orders.

Meanwhile, Snotlout was being chased by one of the Whispering Deaths. "Hookfang! Help! Hurry!" Snotlout called, hoping the Monstrous Nightmare will come. He then got caught by the Whispering Death, but luckily for Snotlout, Hookfang came and rescued Snotlout just in time. The two of them then flew up with the Whispering Death chasing after them.'

"Stormfly, spines!" Astrid ordered. The blue Nadder shot spines at the Whispering Death, getting its attention away from Snotlout. The wild dragon then went back underground.

"Astrid!" Fishlegs warned. The Hofferson girl turned and saw Whispering Death emerging from the tunnel right behind her and Stormfly!

Luckily Meatlug fired a lava blast at the Whispering Death, keeping it away from Stormfly and Astrid. "Nice shot, girl. Impeccable timing as usual." Fishlegs praised.

Stoick grabbed a large log and swung at a nearby Whispering Death. He then swung the log at another Whispering Death that was coming at him from behind. The first Whispering Death trip the Berkian chief with its tail. The Whispering Death was about to sink its teeth into Stoick, when the chief rolled out just in time. He then spotted a shield near him. "What something to chew on, do you? Well, dinner is served!" Stoick yelled, before shoving the shield into the Whispering Deaths' jaws. The dragon retaliated, by sending the chief flying. He landed next to Gobber.

Hicca and Midnight then flew by firing plasma blasts at the offending dragon, causing it to go back underground.

"Odin's beard!" Stoick said as he got up. He then turned to Gobber. "Gobber, take care of the village. I'm going to see how our new friends match up against Thornado." After getting a nod from Gobber, the chief raced off to find his dragon.

Gobber then noticed Spitelout getting cornered by one of the Whispering Death. The dragon dentist caught the dragons' attention by slamming his hammer on its' tail. The Whispering Death turned its' attention to Gobber and head-butted him out of the way before going back underground.

"Where did these Whispering Deaths come from? And why are they smaller?" Astrid asked.

"They must be hatchlings." Fishlegs guessed.

"That's a good thing right?" Astrid asked with a hopeful look.

"It should be given hatchlings would have less experiences in attacking and defending themselves." Raeda theorized.

"Actually, you're wrong." Fishlegs informed. "Newly hatched Whispering Deaths are more deadly than adults. They have no control of their jaws or their spines. They're like out of control saw blades."

"That sounds about right." Astrid sighed. Why couldn't they ever face a non-threatening dragon?

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless continued to race through the tunnels to find a way out which was made easier thanks to Toothless' echo-location. "Yeah, that's it keep going, bud." Hiccup encouraged.

Finally they manage to find the end of the tunnel and emerged from the ground to see the village being attacked by the Whispering Deaths. "We have to get in there, bud." Hiccup said to Toothless. The Night Fury agreed and they flew to the attack.

"Stormfly, fire!" Astrid called.

"Spines Sparkfire!" Raeda ordered.

Both Nadders fired at the Whispering Deaths, only for the rogue dragons to dodge and dive back underground.

"We can hit them better when they're above ground." Astrid said to Raeda. The Hofferson girl than noticed Ruffnut and Tuffnut were just hovering on Barf and Belch looking at the chaos below in awe. "What are you two doing?"

"Whispering Deaths, I could watch them all day." Ruffnut said.

"The way the rip through solid rock, it's glorious." Tuffnut sighed, wiping off a tear.

Ruffnut noticed this. "Uh, are you crying?"

"No…maybe. Don't judge me!" Tuffnut said defensively.

Uh, guys." Astrid called, pointing in the direction in front of the twins.

The Thorston twins and the Zippleback looked and saw a Whispering Death hovering in front of them, getting ready to eat them!

That gave them a jolt as the blonde twins had Barf and Belch fire at the dragon, making it fly away. The Whispering Death then flew back underground.

Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout and Hookfang flew above the hole. "We need to flush them out, Snotlout!" Fishlegs said.

"Yeah we do, that's the one that took my water." Snotlout said, still annoyed at the loss of his profit.

As soon as Hiccup and Toothless reached the village, they spotted Hicca and Midnight fighting off against one of the Whispering Deaths. The two boys were about to help them when they too got attacked by another Whispering Death. Toothless shot a few plasma blasts at the Whispering Death, keeping it back.

Hiccup then used his shield to reflect some light against the Whispering Death, making it fly away. "Rule number one, never forget a dragons' weakness." Hiccup said. He and Toothless then raced to join Hicca and Midnight who, chased away their Whispering Death and was joined by Astrid and Stormfly.

"The Whispering Death tunnels drained our water supply." Hiccup informed.

"Yeah, kind of figured that." Astrid said. "We need to keep them in the sunlight."

"Um, I'm not sure if you've noticed Astrid, but that won't be easy." Hicca said, gesturing to the sky, which was almost covered with clouds.

"That's why I have this." Hiccup said showing his shield to the girls. He once again used the shield to reflect light onto the Whispering Deaths, herding them away.

"It's working. You're driving them away from the village." Astrid said in relief.

Fishlegs, Snotlout, Raeda and their dragons then flew down and fired at the Whispering Deaths to help herd them away.

"That's right! You better run." Snotlout shouted to the Whispering.

Soon all the Whispering Deaths evacuated Berk.

"I'm going to miss those guys. They were, like, dangerous but cool at the same time. Kind of like me." Tuffnut commented.

Hicca then noticed her twin frowning. "What's wrong, bro?"

"I don't think this is over yet. Not by a long shot." Hiccup said, remembering the bigger tunnel underground.

"Stop being so negative." Snotlout said nonchalantly. "Enjoy the moment, Hiccup. Buy some water."

But that moment passed and the ground started to shake again.

"What… is… that?" Fishlegs asked, nervous to find out the answer.

Another dragon emerged from the ground again, but this time it wasn't a Whispering Death. This dragon was bigger with a longer tail. It's white with big red eyes and three rows of razor sharp teeth.

"What is that?" Raeda said worriedly.

"Uh, so that's what I was afraid of." Hiccup said. He then turned to other dragon riders "Uh, suggestions, anyone?"

The new dragon then flew below the group, causing them to fly out of the way, allowing the dragon to fly towards the village.

"What is that thing?" Snotlout asked.

"I have no idea." Hicca answered.

"Ah, Fishlegs, Is that in the Book of Dragons?" Hiccup asked the Ingerman boy, who was to busy looking at the bigger dragon in fear to answer. "Fishlegs! Is that think in the Book of Dragons?"

"Uh, definitely not." Fishlegs answered.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup, I am certain I would remember an all-white, boulder class, titan-wing Whispering Death with bright red eyes that bore a hole right through your very soul." Fishlegs said.

"Toothless, plasma blast." Hiccup ordered.

Toothless fired a plasma blast and it hit the dragon. It replied by turning around and letting out a powerful roar. The roar was too much for the dragons as they struggled to stay hovering in the air.

"It's affecting our dragons!" Astrid said trying to regain control of Stormfly.

"I know that scream is disorienting them." Hiccup said as he tried to calm Toothless.

"It's disorienting me too." Raeda commented flinching at the roar.

The dragon then stopped roaring and flew back to the village.

Tuffnut then came up with a new name for the dragon "Screaming Death. I love it!" Suddenly, the other Whispering Deaths came back and joined the Screaming Death in causing a rampage to the village. "Okay, maybe love is too strong a word."

"Hiccup, Hicca what are we going to do?" Astrid asked the Haddock twins.

"We need to separate the Screaming Death from the Whispering Deaths." Hicca said.

"Hicca's right. Astrid, you and the others focus on the Whispering Deaths. I'll try to keep the Screaming Death busy." Hiccup ordered.

"Okay, have fun! See ya!" Snotlout said as he and Hookfang flew off.

"Remember your Flight Club training!" Hiccup reminded the others before he and his sister flew off.

"I knew we should've gone that day." Tuffnut said to his twin.

Stormfly, Hookfang, Sparkfire and Meatlug shot fires at the Whispering Deaths, herding them away from the village.

"This way!" Astrid yelled to the other dragon riders. Their plan worked as the Whispering Deaths started following them.

Meanwhile, Hicca, Midnight, Toothless and Hiccup flew to the Screaming Death.

"Toothless, now!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless fired a plasma blast and hit the Screaming Death, getting its attention.

"Fire away, Midnight!" Hicca exclaimed and at that the female Night Fury shot her own plasma blast at the larger dragon.

The Screaming Death retaliated by firing a giant fireball at the group. Luckily the group managed to dodge it and fire back.

The Screaming Death then slammed its tail into Hiccup and Toothless sending them flying into Hicca and Midnight and onto the ground. The four of them looked up and saw the Whispering Death was hovering above them, ready to fire at them again

But before it could, the Screaming Death was hit with a sonic blast. Stoick and Thornado entered the fight with the Thunderdrum firing another sonic blast at the wild dragon.

"Thanks, dad!" Hiccup and Hicca yelled as they got back on their dragons and back in the air.

"I don't even want to know what that thing is, but we need to get it out of here." Stoick said as he watch the Screaming Death fly around the village.

"Way ahead of you." Hiccup said. "Hicca and I will try and lead it away from the village."

He then flew up into the air.

Meanwhile the Whispering Deaths were still following the other dragon rides in the forest. One of them was chasing after Astrid and Snotlout.

"Let's split up it can't follow us both." Astrid said to Snotlout.

"I don't get it." Snotlout said confused, before he understood. "Oh, yeah. Good idea." He then flew away. "Ha, ha, this is going to be fun, Hookfang."

They split up and the Whispering Death decided to chase after Astrid and Stormfly. "Stormfly, evasive maneuvers." Astrid commanded. The Whispering Death fired several spikes at them, but luckily they managed to dodge.

Snotlout and Hookfang got ahead of the group and the Monstrous Nightmare grabbed a tree with his mouth and bent it to one side. They waited until Astrid and Stormfly passed by. "Now Hookfang!" Snotlout commanded. Hookfang let go of the tree and it slammed into the Whispering Death, sending it straight to the ground.

"Oops. Hate it when that happens." Astrid said looking down at the Whispering Death.

Another Whispering Death was chasing Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Slower, Meatlug." Fishlegs ordered, watching the Whispering Death behind him. He was waiting for the right time to execute his plan. "Wait for it. Wait for it." Then once the Whispering Death was inches away, Meatlug farted making the Whispering Death scream because of the smell. "Tail bludgeon." Fishlegs commanded. Meatlug then slammed her tail onto the Whispering Death's head sending straight down.

Fishlegs then hugged Meatlug. "Ahh, there's nothing more glorious than a well-placed tail bludgeon, is there, girl?"

Hiccup, Hicca, Stoick and the dragons were still facing off against the Screaming Death. The wild dragon then fired two fireballs at the group, which they managed to dodge. Midnight and Toothless fired multiple plasma blasts at the dragon, but it didn't seem to have much effect.

Hiccup then got an idea "Okay, let's see how it likes this." He once again reflected sunlight from his shield towards the Screaming Death. Once the light went on its' eyes, it dived down into the ground. "Just as I thought." But he was proven wrong as the Screaming Death emerged out of the ground and charged right at them. The group moved away quickly.

"Apparently, it doesn't mind." Stoick commented.

"It must not have that weakness." Hiccup guessed.

"That's impossible, every dragon has a weakness." Hicca said.

"Well, we better figure out what its weakness and quick." Stoick asked. The Screaming Death fired another scream, disorienting the dragons again. "What happening?"

"The screaming. It affects the dragons' flying." Hiccup answered.

Toothless, despite being disoriented by the scream, managed to fire a plasma blast that hit the Screaming Death, making it stop. It then flew down and began to chase after Hiccup, Hicca Toothless and Midnight out to sea. Stoick and Thornado began to follow them, but were stopped by a Whispering Death.

"Thornado, sonic blast!" Stoick ordered.

Thornado fired a sonic blast knocking the Whispering Death. It got up and tried to fight back, but was stopped by fire blasts from Sparkfire, Barf and Belch. Seeing as it was outnumbered, the Whispering Death flew away.

"Are you okay, chief?" Raeda asked as she, Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew to Stoick.

"I've got this you three help Hicca and Hiccup." Stoick ordered.

"Where are they?" Tuffnut asked.

"Look for a giant, white, red-eyed beast. That'll be your first clue." Stoick answered dryly.

"Okay. What's the second clue?" Tuffnut asked, not getting it causing Raeda to sigh in exasperation.

"GO!" Stoick shouted.

"Just follow me guys." Raeda said, as she and Sparkfire led the way.

Meanwhile the Screaming Death was still chasing after the Haddock twins and the Night Furies firing spikes at them. Hiccup tried reflecting some light into the dragons' face again, only to notice that it was following it.

"It's actually attracted to the light." Hiccup said, to his sister.

"The opposite of a Whispering Death, their weakness is its strength." Hicca said

Hiccup contemplated that for a second "It can also be a weakness." Hicca thought of that for a second before understanding what her brother meant. She nodded in response.

Hicca spotted some sea stacks ahead of them. "Head to the sea stacks."

The four of them flew to the sea stacks with the Whispering Death right behind them.

Raeda and the Thorston twins met up with Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs and arrived at the sea stacks as well.

Astrid spotted the Haddock twins and the Night Furies "They're down there!" She and the others flew right behind the Screaming Death. Astrid and Raeda flew ahead of the Screaming Death and caught up with Hicca and Hiccup. "Need a little help?"

"More than a little. It doesn't have the Whispering Death's weakness. It goes after the sunlight." Hiccup said.

"What's the plan?" Raeda asked.

"We're going to turn its' strength into a weakness with a little game of follow the leader." Hicca answered.

"Hicca and I will keep it following us. You guys and the others get behind and hit it with everything you have."

"Got it." Astrid said as she and Raeda flew back to tell the others of the plan.

The Screaming Death started firing at the auburn twins. The auburn twins used evasive maneuvers to avoid the fireballs flung in their direction. One near hit, caused Toothless to crash onto one of the sea stacks.

Midnight covered the boys by firing a plasma blast against the Screaming Death, getting its' attention. Then the wild dragon got hit by a stream of fire from Stormfly, causing it to fly up to avoid getting attacked. It flew right into Barf and Belch.

"Barf, let him have it." Ruffnut said.

Barf and Belch fired their explosive right in the Screaming Deaths' face. It turned around in time to see Hookfang hit it with a fire blast.

"Not so tough after all, are you?" Snotlout mocked.

The Screaming Death retaliated by firing several spikes that almost hit Snotlout and Fishlegs.

"He didn't mean that, sir, uh, uh ma'am, whatever you are." Fishlegs said nervously.

Sparkfire then flew in, shooting spikes of her own right at the Screaming Death

Angered, the Screaming Death then began to fire in every direction, making it hard for everyone to dodge them. Hiccup, who got back in the air with Toothless, began to reflect sunlight at it with his shield and it turned to face him. "Let's see if we can use its size against it." Hiccup said to Toothless. The duo then flew up with the Screaming Death followed them. "Come on, Toothless! A little higher." Hiccup encouraged. They then flew over the clouds. "Hold." Hiccup said, looking for the right time. "Almost. Now!" They then dived back down just as the Screaming Death tried to bite them. The Screaming Death then flew back down after them. It tried to catch them as they made their way back into the sea stack maze. "That's it. Keep coming." Hiccup said to the Screaming Death. The dragon smashed into sea stacks as it followed them. "Almost there, big guy." Hiccup kept on using his shield to make sure the Screaming Death was still after them. He and Toothless took a sharp turn around a corner of a sea stack and rogue dragon continued to follow them. Once it turned, it saw Hiccup and Toothless hovering behind a lager sea stack and charged after them. Right at the last second, Hiccup and Toothless flew up, causing it slam into the sea stack and fell on the ground.

The force of the hit on the sea stacks caused the rocks from the sea stack to fall and land on one of the Screaming Deaths' wings, making it scream in pain. It managed to free itself and tried to fly only crash back on the ground because of its broken wing.

"One of its wings is broken. It can't fly." Hiccup observed. Then the Whispering Deaths flew over to the Screaming Death and carried the larger dragon away. "Wow, look at that." Toothless snarled and tried to go after them, but Hiccup held him back. "Whoa, bud, whoa. It's hurt. Let it go." Reluctantly, Toothless complied.

Back on Berk, repairs were being made to the village after the attack. Hiccup was telling Stoick and Hicca what he found in the tunnels.

"I found an Outcast crest on a crate in those tunnels." He said. "I think Alvin planted those eggs, knowing they would hatch and tear Berk apart. He might not be riding dragons yet, but he is using them."

"That's explains the Outcasts ships. I bet they were using them as a distraction so they could plant the eggs." Hicca inferred.

Stoick took that information into consideration "We'll deal with Alvin and his wild dragons later." He promised. "Right now, we have to fix our water problem."

"You guys, look!" Fishlegs said, pointing to the bottom of the well. Stoick and his kids went to see what Fishlegs was talking about. "The well's filling back up."

"The Screaming Death's digging must have created a new channel for the water and redirected it back into our well." Hiccup said.

Hicca smiled at that. "You know what that means…"

Gobber gulped as he realized _exactly_ what that meant "Right. Well…I'll be going now." He said nervously, trying to sneak away until Stoick caught him.

"Not see fast, Gobber." Stoick said.

Gobber dreaded what was going to happen next.

Minutes later he was in a trough and the Thorston twins, the only two people brave enough to do the job, were scrubbing him down with brooms.

"No! Oh, mercy! Oh, the humanity!" Gobber yelled, wanting to be anywhere but here.

"Make sure you scrub behind his ears." Stoick said to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "I think I just saw a bird fly out there."

Later that day the Haddock twins, Toothless and Midnight were standing at the edge of Berk looking out to sea. They were then joined by Astrid and Stormfly.

"There you two are. We missed you at the scrub-down." Astrid said then gave a chuckle. "You guys should have seen what came out from between his toes."

"We're more concerned about what came out from under Berk." Hiccup said.

"What are you talking about? That thing is long gone." Astrid said.

"They're gone for now, but nothing can keep them from coming back." Hicca pointed out.

"Hicca's right." Hiccup agreed. "Whispering Death hatchlings are known to return to their birthplace and claim it as their own."

"So what are you two saying?" Astrid asked.

"We're saying we don't think we've seen the last of the Screaming Death." Hiccup said.

"And this is them in their hatchling form. Imagine facing them and the Screaming Death when they're adults." Hicca said. "With the threat from Alvin and Dagur, we've got our work cut out for us."


	5. Race To Fireworm Island

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 5: Race To Fireworm Island**

Today, Snotlout decided to do some extra training with Hookfang "Come on, Hookfang, is that all you got?" Snotlout demanded. "If I wanted a slow, last dragon, I'd take Meatlug from Fishlegs." Clearly, Hookfang was tired from the non-stop training but pushed to fly faster "Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

The rest of the dragon riders and dragons were watching him on one of the sea stacks "What is with him?" Hiccup asked.

"He needs to stop or Hookfang is going to collapse." Hicca said worriedly

"I heard that ever since Alvin and The Whispering Deaths attacked, he's been training nonstop." Astrid said.

"I heard he's been flying all night for the past week." Fishlegs chipped in.

"I heard he barely allows Hookfang to rest for more than five minutes." Raeda spoke up

"Yeah, well, I heard Gothi can debone a yak just by looking at it." Tuffnut piped in.

"Well, I heard if you sit on a Terrible Terror, you can make flames come out of your-" Ruffnut started to say before getting cut off by Astrid.

"Whoa!" Astrid interrupted. "What does this have to do with Snotlout?"

"Oh, I thought we were playing the 'I heard' game." Tuffnut explained. "And by the way, 'Terrible Terror' thing… totally true, I've tried."

Then Snotlout and Hookfang landed on the sea stack "That's right. You just saw what you just saw." Snotlout said proudly getting off Hookfang, while the Monstrous Nightmare looks extremely exhausted. Hicca went to check up on Hookfang

"Snotlout, Hookfang looks pretty tired. I think you might be pushing him too hard." Hiccup said.

"You say 'pushing,' I say 'challenging.'" Snotlout countered.

"No, my parents' training is 'challenging' but even they allow me to get proper rest." Raeda said

"Hookfang doesn't need rest. He's a warrior." Snotlout said. "And we warriors live for the thrill for battle. It's like my dad always says…"

"Take a bath, Snotlout?" Astrid asked.

"Rip your tongue out, Snotlout?" Ruffnut asked.

"Learn some common sense, Snotlout?" Raeda asked

"Stick your head up a yak's…" Tuffnut began to say.

"No! No! No! None of those." Snotlout interrupted. "He says, 'rest is for the weak.'"

"And let's thank Snotlout for that inspirational speech." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Snotlout said missing out on the sarcasm. He got back on Hookfang while Hicca was still inspecting him. "Now let's get on with this exercise, unless you guys are too tired." He mocked.

Hicca tried to stop him "Wait, Snotlout! I haven't finished-"

But it was in vain as Snotlout took off "Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

"I can name one thing I'm tired of." Astrid muttered.

The other teens got on their dragons and joined Snotlout and Hookfang.

"Okay guys Alvin wants Berk for himself, and now he has dragons." Hiccup explained. "If he can train them to fight, we'll have to battle dragon-riding Outcast soldiers up here."

"Up where?" Tuffnut asked.

"Here, in the sky… on your dragon." Hiccup said.

"So it's important to be prepared for a battle in the sky." Hicca continued.

"Well, I say, 'bring it on, Alvin.'" Snotlout said.

"So how are we going to prepare for that?" Raeda asked.

"It's simple." Hiccup said before turning to face Astrid. "Astrid for this training exercise, you and Stormfly will act as our bad dragon."

Astrid nodded and looked at Stormfly. "Stormfly, battle ready!" She ordered. Stormfly complied and flew higher than the other dragons.

"The rest of you, make sure you don't get caught. She touches you, you're out." Hiccup finished.

"Snotlout, Hookfang, you guys are sitting this one out." Hicca instructed.

"What?! Why?!" Snotlout demanded indignantly.

"Because Hookfang has had more than enough training. He needs to get some rest and get hydrated." Hicca answered calmly.

"Are you kidding me? We've barely covered any training. We are not sitting this one out." Snotlout said stubbornly.

"Well, too bad. As co-leader, I order you to be benched for this exercise." Hicca said.

"Well, as Snotlout, I will defy that order." Snotlout said, crossing.

Hiccup stepped in to try to diffuse the situation. "Alright, alright, Snotlout you and Hookfang can participate in this exercise, but once Astrid tags you then you're out and you guys are done for the day, got it."

"Fine." Snotlout said.

Hiccup turned to his twin to see if that's alright with her. "I guess that's the only way he'll agree." Hicca sighed.

Hiccup then turned to the others. "Alright then, let's start."

Immediately he, Hicca, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Raeda and Fishlegs scattered in different directions marking the beginning of the chase. Astrid started flying after them.

Fishlegs and Meatlug flew in the forest and maneuvered through the trees. Fishlegs looked to see if Astrid was chasing him and to his delight, neither the Hofferson girl nor her blue Nadder was anywhere to be seen.

"Now, that is how a highly maneuverable Boulder class dragon does it." Fishlegs said proudly patting Meatlug. "Good girl."

Suddenly several spikes shot out in front of them blocking their path. Fishlegs looked up and saw Astrid and Stormfly hovering above them.

"Yeah, looked great from up here. You're both out" Astrid said, patting Fishlegs on the shoulder. She and Stormfly then flew off to find the others.

"Don't let her get you down, Meatlug. You still have the biggest heart out here." Fishlegs said to his dragon.

Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch were also in the forest hiding behind the trees. The problem was that their hiding place was so obvious Astrid had no problem finding them.

"I told you this would work." Tuffnut said to his twin.

"Yeah, she's staring right at us and doesn't even know we're here." Ruffnut chuckled.

Astrid rolled her eyes and walked over towards them and touched both Barf and Belch's necks. "Out and out." She said walking away.

"Who's she talking to?" Tuffnut asked Ruffnut.

"Can't be us." Ruffnut answered.

Astrid shook her head, got on Stormfly and flew off.

She then spotted Raeda and Sparkfire and started chasing after them. Raeda saw Astrid flying after them. "Alright girl, time to shake them off." After the encounter with Heather and the Outcasts, the Henderson girl started feeding her Deadly Nadder chicken, which succeeded in making Sparkfire fly faster and makes them and Astrid and Stormfly equal in speed. "Come on girl, we out-fly Astrid and Stormfly and you will definitely be getting extra chicken tonight." That motivated Sparkfire to fly even faster.

The four of them raced through the forest, keeping a sharp eye out for any trees in their path. Raeda then got an idea and led Sparkfire up and out of the trees. Astrid and Stormfly soon followed. They then flew right above the ocean and Raeda had Sparkfire reduce her speed slightly allowing the pair behind them to catch up. As soon as Raeda saw that Astrid was a good distance behind them, she gave Sparkfire the command. The purple Nadder flipped her tail in the ocean as she flew, causing water to get sprayed in Astrid and Stormflys' direction.

Distracted, they stopped in their flight allowing Raeda and Sparkfire an opportunity to escape.

Annoyed at having been outsmarted by her fellow Nadder rider, the blonde Hofferson girl looked around for anyone else she can get. She settled her sights on Hiccup and Toothless and chased after them.

She and Stormfly were catching up to Hiccup and Toothless "You might as well give up now." Astrid taunted as she and Stormfly got closer to them

"Wow, you sound just like Alvin." Hiccup commented. He spotted a cave in a nearby sea stack and got an idea. "Come on, bud, let's see how she does when the lights go out." Toothless flew into the cave with Stormfly right behind him. "Toothless, you know what to do."

Astrid had guessed Hiccups' plan and sighed. "Hiccup, you're so predictable." She said.

Hiccup and Toothless entered the cave and sped through the tunnels, with Toothless using echolocation to guide them. Just when he thought they lost Astrid and Stormfly, Hiccup then noticed the tunnel being brighter behind them. He turned around and saw Astrid and Stormfly right behind them, with Stormfly using her fire as a torch.

"Astrid… so predictable." Hiccup said, before signaling Toothless to fly faster. The two boys zoomed out of the light range making it hard for Astrid and Stormfly to see them. Astrid and Stormfly kept flying through the tunnel, looking for any sign of Hiccup or Toothless. But what neither of them knew was that they actually flew passed the boy and Night Fury. It turns out Toothless used his dark scales to camouflage himself and Hiccup in the dark cave, making them invisible. As soon as the girls were out of sight, Hiccup and Toothless flew out through the way they came in.

"She's not going to be too pleased with this, is she?" Hiccup commented Toothless, who warbled in agreement.

By the time Astrid and Stormfly made it out of the cave, Hiccup and Toothless were long gone, and Astrid realized that she was somehow tricked. "No!" She said in annoyance.

She, however, got over her annoyance when she spotted Snotlout and Hookfang flying past them. They became her new targets

Snotlout turned around and saw Astrid flying after them. He then gave a smirk and turned back to Hookfang "Okay, Hookfang, let's show them who's the true king of the skies. Flame!" He ordered. Hookfang then tried to ignite, but failed. "Uh, Hookfang, I said 'flame'!" Hookfang tried to ignite again, but was still unsuccessful. The two boys were to focused on the lack of flames, that they didn't noticed Astrid and Stormfly flying to their side, until Astrid tapped Snotlout on his helmet. "And out." She declared, happy to have finally caught someone else.

But Snotlout didn't pay attention to her "Come on! Stop being stubborn." He yelled at Hookfang. But no matter how many times he commanded, Hookfang just wasn't able to flame up. Hicca and Midnight were flying nearby and noticed something was definitely wrong with Hookfang. They immediately flew to the four of them, close enough to Hookfang so that Hicca could get a good look at him.

"Oh, this can't be good." Hicca said. "This exercise is officially over, Astrid, go gather Hiccup and the others and tell them to meet us back in the Academy, Snotlout, you and Hookfang are coming with us back in the Academy, and if you argue Midnight is going carry you by your tunic. Come on!"

The four of them manage to make it back to the Academy, where Hicca continued her inspection on Hookfang. Moments later the others made it back, having been filled on by Astrid on what happened. They looked very concerned.

"What? What's the matter with everyone?" Snotlout asked, noticing the concern. "Never seen a stubborn dragon before?"

"Snotlout, that wasn't stubbornness. There's something wrong with Hookfang. He couldn't flame up." Hiccup explained.

"No. Hookfang didn't want to flame up. There's a difference." Snotlout argued. "He's bored with your dumb exercise and he can flame up whenever he wants."

"Okay, how about now?" Tuffnut asked.

Snotlout looked at Hookfang, who was laying still on the ground, and then looked back at Tuffnut. "Nah. He doesn't feel like it now."

Hiccup walked to his twin. "Well, sis?"

"Not only is he out of fire, but his scales are all pale and flaky. According to Bork's notes these are signs that a Monstrous Nightmare has lost its' fire power." Hicca answered.

"Yeah, I've read in the Book of Dragons, that a Monstrous Nightmare can lose its ability to generate flame." Fishlegs said.

"But why?" Astrid asked.

"Lots of reasons, old age, injury, exhaustion." Fishlegs said listed.

"Pushed too hard by his stubborn rider." Astrid added, glaring at Snotlout.

"I heard that." Snotlout said.

"That was the point." Raeda said.

"I always work him this hard." Snotlout said, not bothered by the information. "So, he's a little out of flame. What's the cure?"

"That's the thing with Stoker class dragons. Once they lose their flaming ability, they become completely defenseless and…" Fishlegs began, but stopped, unable to explain any further.

"What are you saying, Fishlegs?" Snotlout asked.

Fishlegs tried to tell him, but was unable to form the words. Hicca came to his aid. "A Monstrous Nightmare can't survive without its flame." She said solemnly.

Snotlout gave a horror filled look as the realization came to him. He didn't say a word to the other teens after that.

Hiccup and Hicca decided to end dragon training for the day to figure out how to help Hookfang. Later that night, Snotlout and Hookfang were home, with the former trying to feed the latter who was still weak.

"Hookfang, don't listen to those guys. They don't know what they're talking about." Snotlout said, though it seemed like he was trying to tell that to himself rather than the dragon. "You're Hookfang. You're a warrior, indestructible, like me. Right?"

He gave Hookfang some water, which the Monstrous Nightmare drank with no problem, causing Snotlout to smile.

Suddenly, the door slammed opened causing Snotlout to jump and Spitelout walked in. "Snotlout!" He yelled.

"Oh, hey, dad, didn't expect you home so soon." Snotlout said.

"Have you seen my spare bludgeon?" Spitelout asked.

"Uh, no, I haven't." Snotlout said.

"I could've sworn I left it here." Spitelout said as he looked through their weapons.

"You want to borrow mine?" Snotlout offered, pointing to his bludgeon.

"Yeah." Spitelout accepted. He took the bludgeon and walked out. "I have to get back to the port. We're having a contest to see whose skull is strongest." He said, banging his bludgeon on his helmet.

"Sounds fun." Snotlout said, lacking enthusiasm..

Spitelout then noticed Hookfang a little pale. "Troubles with the lizard son?" He asked.

"What? Him?" Snotlout said, gesturing to Hookfang. "Oh, he's fine. Just resting."

"You know what I say about rest?" Spitelout said.

"Rest is for the weak." They said in unison.

Snotlout chuckled nervously, trying to come up with an acceptable excuse. "It's just a break, you know, from annihilating stuff all day." He said. He then turned and looked at Hookfang. "Isn't that right, Hookfang?" Hookfang gave out a weak groan. Snotlout turned to his dad and chuckled nervously again. "He's roaring on the inside."

Spitelout gave another look to Hookfang, unconvinced by his sons' lies. He looked out the window and saw the other dragon riders flying. He then looked at his son and made his way back to the weapons and pulled a sword out. "You know, boy-o, as Viking warriors, if our swords are not cutting properly, we sharpen them. But if are swords cannot be sharpened any longer…" He then slammed the sword on his knee, splitting it into two. "We get a new sword." He then placed the broken sword back into the barrel and walked outside. "Thanks for the bludgeon."

Snotlout said nothing at that, he simply looked at Hookfang.

The next day, in the Academy, Fishlegs and Hicca were looking for a cure for Hookfang while the others waited.

"Don't worry, Snotlout." Hiccup reassured his cousin.

"I'm not worried." Snotlout lied, sneaking a glance at Hookfang.

Tuffnut then noticed a tear trailing down Snotlouts' face "Whoa. Are you crying? What's that like?"

"Crying?" Snotlout scoffed, punching Tuffnut. "That's ridiculous. Ha! There's dust in my eyes. Can't you see how dusty it is in here, guys, right?"

"Snotlout, there is nothing wrong with being upset. It just means you care." Astrid said

Snotlout looked at her for a minute before saying. "Alright, um, let's just pretend for a minute that I did, well, care. How would you know? I mean, how would you know?" He asked.

"Well, you might feel tightness in your chest; you might get a little shaky, your eyes might get watery." Astrid said.

Snotlout thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, I'm going to go with dust…" He said chuckling. "For now." Astrid smiled, understanding.

"Guys, we found something!" Hicca called, getting everyones' attention.

"Here's something from the Bork papers regarding a Stoker class dragon's flame." Fishlegs said, looking at the notes.

He then showed them one of the notes which had a picture of a Monstrous Nightmare surrounded by Fireworms.

"Fireworm dragons." Hiccup stated.

"Or as Bork referred to them, the flame eaters." Fishlegs said.

"'Flame eaters.' We should be called flame eaters." Tuffnut said enthusiastically.

"Cool!" Ruffnut exclaimed, punching her brother in the back.

"So the theory is that maybe these Fireworm dragons can help to reignite Hookfangs' flame." Hicca said.

Hiccup then got up with a plan in his head. "Okay, Astrid, Raeda, the Thorston twins and I will round up as many Fireworms as we can find. Hicca, stay here and take care of Hookfang and Fishlegs, keep reading."

"What about me?" Snotlout asked.

"You stay with your dragon. He needs you." Hiccup said, walking to Toothless.

"It's part of caring." Astrid explained.

Hiccup, Astrid, Raeda and the Thorston twins flew off. Snotlout said nothing as he offered Hookfang some comfort.

A few hours later, the five teens returned with all Fireworms they could find. They placed the Fireworms in a circle around Hookfang, but got no result

"Nothing." Hiccup said. He turned to Snotlout, who was getting even more worried. "Well, that might not have worked, but—"

"Maybe he can drink this." Tuffnut interrupted, holding a bowl with a liquid in it.

"What is that?" Hiccup asked.

"Fireworm milk." Ruffnut answered.

"'Fireworm milk'?" Astrid repeated, skeptical.

"Um, Tuffnut, I don't think you can actually milk a Fireworm?" Fishlegs informed.

"Oh, great. Thanks. Where were you three hours ago?" Tuffnut huffed showing his wrapped hand.

Hicca sighed and went to tend to Tuffnuts' burnt hand.

"Maybe we need to put the Fireworms on Hookfang, so he can absorb their heat directly." Hiccup suggested.

"Yeah. Yeah, good idea, Hiccup. Direct heat—that makes sense." Snotlout said quickly, a glint of hope shining in his eyes. He turned to the others. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Immediately the teens, except for Hicca and Tuffnut, began to place the Fireworms on Hookfang, using pincers to hold them. Once they did, a small flame flickered on Hookfangs' head.

"It's working." Snotlout said in relief, but his relief ended when the flame died out. The worry came back. "We need more Fireworms now! You hear me? More Fireworms!"

"Snotlout, I think we've rounded up all the Fireworms on Berk." Astrid said with regret.

Snotlout looked defeated and lost. The others had no idea what to say to him, new to this side of Snotlout.

Suddenly, Hiccas' voice caught her brothers' attention. "Tuffnut, I just fixed your burn wound, don't make it worse!"

"Come on! You said you wanted to be a flame eater." Ruffnut reminded his twin, trying to place a Fireworm she was holding on her brother.

"I did, didn't I?" Tuffnut said, trying to place his Fireworm on his sister.

That was when Hiccup saw the Fireworms glowing brighter when they were close together. It gave him an idea.

"Guys, knock it off! Now's not the time." Raeda said to Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

Hiccup stopped her "It's actually the perfect time, Rae. They just gave me an idea." Hiccup said, to Raedas' confusion. He turned to the blonde twins. "I don't say this often, but you two are geniuses."

"Like we don't know that." Tuffnut replied, before going back to putting the Fireworm on his twin.

Without an explanation Hiccup went and grabbed a lantern. He then gathered a group of Fireworms and placed them in the lantern.

"What are you doing, Hiccup?" Snotlout asked, becoming impatient. "Shouldn't you be figuring out how to save my dragon?"

"I am." Hiccup answered. He walked to a group of Fireworms with the lantern in his hand. "As Ruff and Tuff so astutely discovered Fireworms get brighter the closer they are to one another." To demonstrate, he placed the lantern next to the Fireworms, causing the lantern to glow.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." Astrid commented.

"Whoa. We discovered that?" Ruffnut asked in awe.

"Yes you did." Hiccup said. The blonde twins celebrated by banging their heads together. "So, if I'm right, the closer we get to more Fireworm, then…" He stopped and looked at the twins. "Come on! Come on, Tuff, lead us home."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other in confusion. Tuffnut then got an idea "We'll all burst into flames." Tuffnut answered. This got him and his twin excited, causing them to bang their heads together again

"The lantern will glow brighter and brighter." Hicca corrected, impressed with the plan.

"Uh, much less fun than bursting into flames." Tuffnut said, not so impressed.

"Wait a minute." Snotlout said. "I thought you said there were no more Fireworms on the island."

"There aren't on this island, but there are plenty on Fireworm Island." Fishlegs informed, showing the others a picture of an island in the Book of Dragons.

"Fireworm Island?" Snotlout repeated looking at the picture.

"That's where these little guys are going to lead us." Fishlegs said pointing at the lantern.

Motivated, Snotlout turned to Hookfang to try to get him up. "Come on, Hookfang. You got to dig deep." He encouraged. "I know you've got some fight left in you. Come on, Hookfang." Slowly, Hookfang raised his head up, to Snotlouts' delight. "Yes, that's it! Yes, Hookfang, yes!" Hookfang then gave out a roar as loud as he got manage.

After dinner, the teens went out to search for Fireworm Island, with Hiccup leading the group with the Fireworm lantern in his hand.

"Bank right, bud. It's brighter this way." Hiccup ordered, keeping a sharp eye on the lantern in his hand. Toothless did so and was followed by the other dragons. Hookfang was the last dragon trailing the group as the Monstrous Nightmare did his best to stay up in the sky, even though he was exhausted. Although Snotlout did gave his dragon some rest, the Monstrous Nightmare still didn't have enough energy to fly properly.

Snotlout noticed this and offered comfort "Hang in there, Hookfang. We'll find more Fireworms. I promise."

"Are you getting anything?" Astrid asked Hiccup.

"No. Nothing yet." Hiccup answered.

Hookfang got weaker and weaker by the second. Raeda noticed this. "Guys, I really don't think Hookfang can go any further. I'm worried he's going to fall any second."

"We're going to have to turn back." Fishlegs said.

"No!" Snotlout yelled. "We have to keep going."

"Raeda and Fishlegs are right, Snotlout." Hiccup said. "He's losing too much altitude. It's not safe."

"Come on, boy, keep fighting." Snotlout tried to encourage. But it was no use as Hookfang continued to lose altitude.

The other dragon riders flew to them.

"We should turn back." Astrid advised.

Reluctantly, Snotlout agreed to this. They were on their way back when Fishlegs noticed Hiccups' lantern glowing

"Guys look!" Fishlegs said, pointing to the lantern.

Hiccup saw the lantern "I see it!" He and Toothless then flew to direction causing the lantern to glow brighter followed by the others. They kept on flying straight ahead and soon they saw an island ahead of them. "That's got to be it Fireworm Island." Hiccup said.

They landed on Fireworm Island where Hicca spotted a cave. "Guys look! I bet the Fireworms are in there."

Once Hookfang landed, he immediately collapsed on the ground. It was clear that he couldn't go any further. Snotlout rubbed his dragons' head in comfort.

"Snotlout, I think you need to stay here with Hookfang and the others." Hiccup suggested. "Astrid, Hicca and I will bring the Fireworms back."

"Actually, bro, I think I should stay with Hookfang, just in case." Hicca said, holding up her satchel which had her medical kit.

"I'm coming with you." Snotlout said with determination as he stood up. "It's my fault, Hiccup. I did this to Hookfang. I'm going to save him."

"Hiccup, we'll stay behind with Hookfang." Astrid said.

Hiccup nodded in reply. He then opened the lantern, allowing the Fireworms to escape. They immediately ran towards the cave.

"Come on." Hiccup said to Snotlout. The two boys got on Toothless and followed the Fireworms to the cave. They followed the Fireworms until they reached a cavern. They then saw the walls filled with structures shaped like honey-combs.

"What is this?" Snotlout asked, looking around in amazement.

"I think it's a nest." Hiccup inferred as they walked into the cavern. Looking at the Fireworms working, he then remembered the notes he read "Flame eaters… that's what Bork meant and this explains those hexagons in the picture. Those fire-combs are filled with gel. Eating it gives Fireworms their heat." Another thought came to him, causing him to turn to his cousin. Whatever you do, please don't tell the twins about this." Hiccup was too busy looking around that he didn't notice that Snotlout getting off Toothless. "We have to be careful not to disturb the nest. Make sure you don't touch a—" He stopped when he saw Snotlout pulling a fire-comb. "Snotlout, no!"

"This is going to save Hookfang!" Snotlout said. pulling fire-comb out. "I got it." Suddenly there was a loud roar echoed in the cavern. "What was that?" That was definitely not from the Fireworms.

The two boys and Night Fury turned around and saw a giant Fireworm. This one had and crown in its' head.

"Uh, that would be the mother, the Fireworm Queen." Hiccup said nervously. He definitely did not see this in the notes. Seeing her fire-comb in Snotlouts' hands, the Fireworm Queen roared at them, causing Toothless to snarl back, ready to defend the boys. "No, Toothless." Hiccup said, restraining his dragon. "She's just protecting her nest. We are the intruders here." The Fireworm Queen continued to glare at Snotlout. "Uh, Snotlout, I'm think you should probably put that back."

But Snotlout wasn't scared by the Queen "No, this is the only way to save Hookfang and I'm not giving it up." Clutching onto the fire-comb, he ran out of the cave with the Fireworm Queen right behind him.

"Come on, bud." Hiccup said. "That queen is not happy." The two of them raced to catch up with them.

Snotlout ran as fast as he could from the Queen, but the queen was determine to take back what is hers. Luckily for Snotlout, Hiccup and Toothless caught up to them and grabbed him before speeding off towards the exit. The Queen continued to chase them "Okay, bud, get us out of here." Hiccup said. They continued to fly through the tunnel, racing to avoid the Queen, but when Snotlout turned around, he saw that the Fireworm Queen disappeared.

"Wait, where did she go?" Snotlout asked Hiccup. "I think we lost her."

"There's no time to worry about that now. She's out of our way and the exit is up ahead." Hiccup said, pointing to the exit. It looked like they were going to make it out, but suddenly the Fireworm Queen came right outside the exit! "And she took a shortcut."

"There's no way out!" Snotlout yelled, panicking.

Toothless was getting ready to fight the Fireworm Queen, when suddenly the Queen was hit by a stream of fire. The boys looked and saw Astrid and Stormfly.

"Astrid! Stormfly!" Hiccup yelled.

Just then Raeda and Sparkfire came, shooting spines at the Queen to keep her distracted.

"We'll handle the queen. You get to Hookfang." Astrid said to the boys.

The Fireworm Queen then set her sights on Astrid, Raeda and the two Deadly Nadders, allowing the boys to escape. Fishlegs, Hicca, Ruffnut and Tuffnut then came with their dragons to assist the girls.

Hiccup, Snotlout and Toothless wasted no time reaching Hookfang. Snotlout immediately ran towards his dragon with the fire-comb. "I got it, Hookfang! I got it!" He exclaimed, placing the fire-comb in front of the Monstrous Nightmare. "You need to eat this right away." Hookfang sniffed the fire-comb causing smoke to come out of his nostrils.

The six dragon riders continued to hold off the Queen as best as they could. Fed up, the Queen shot a stream of fire everywhere forcing the teens and dragons to fly away as far as they could.

Back with the boys, Hookfang has yet to eat the fire-comb. This made Snotlout more and more worried "What are you waiting for, Hookfang? Eat it! Eat it!"

A roar caught their attention causing Hiccup, Toothless and Snotlout to look and see the Fireworm Queen heading straight towards them! Snotlout stepped in front of Hookfang, eyes filled with determination as the Queen reached them. "If you want to get to my dragon, you have to go through me!" Snotlout said to the Queen. Before anyone could attack, Hookfang picked up the fire-comb and use all the strength he could muster to toss it to the Queen. "No! What are you doing, Hookfang? You need to eat that!"

Hiccup saw Hookfang and realized what the Monstrous Nightmare was doing "Snotlout, he's protecting you. He's doing for you what you were willing to do for him." He explained.

Snotlout was shocked at this as he looked at his dragon. Even when he pushed beyond his limit, Hookfang still wanted to protect him?

The Fireworm Queen picked up the fire-comb and gave out a loud roar. She then wrapped her tail around Hookfang and picked him up to her eye level.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled, distressed. To his shock and fear, Snotlout watched as the Fireworm Queen bit down on Hookfangs' chest. "No!" Without a second thought, Snotlout ran towards the Queen to get her to release Hookfang, but his efforts were useless as the Fireworm Queen easily swatted him away with her wing.

Hiccup and Toothless then charged after the Fireworm Queen, ready to attack. But before to could get an attack in, the Queen suddenly released Hookfang and stood back. Hookfang just laid there not moving.

Snotlout walked up to Hookfang with tears in his eyes. "Hookfang…" He said his voice hoarse.

The rest of the dragon riders arrived and saw what was going on.

"Oh, no." Astrid said in fear.

Hicca quickly got her satchel. "Wait, I-I can still try to help him. It's not too late." She said frantically, but Raeda stopped her. She just shook her head, the sadness evident in her eyes

Hookfang gave a weak groan. Snotlout placed a comforting hand on his snout. "I'm right here with you. You're just not another sword, Hookfang." He reassured.

No one said anything as they watched, feeling completely helpless.

Suddenly, Snotlout felt a change in temperature in his hand. "Huh, that's weird. He's really hot." Snotlout then saw Hookfangs scales changing back into its' original color. Hookfang then got up and set himself on fire. "Hookfang, you're back!" Snotlout exclaimed with utmost joy as Hookfang rubbed him with his snort.

Fishlegs and Hicca then came up to Hookfang and felt his scales "Feel his scales. The gel… it's regenerating." Fishlegs said.

"I bet it's because of the Queen. Her bite must have released venom into Hookfangs' body." Hicca inferred

"The venom must have reignited the flame. She saved him." Hiccup said in awe.

The Fireworm Queen roared and Hookfang roared at her. The Queen then flew back into the cave, taking her fire-comb with her.

Astrid then walked up to Snotlout. "Hey, looks like you got some dust in your eyes." She noted with a smile.

"Yeah, I do." Snotlout said, rubbing his eyes and feeling immense relief. "Stupid dust."

The next day it was time for a training exercise. All the teens and dragons have gathered on the sea-stack, except for Snotlout and Hookfang.

"Where is he?" Astrid asked.

"Why are we always waiting for him?" Fishlegs complained.

Hiccup looked up and saw the Jorgenson boy and Monstrous Nightmare coming towards them "There he is." Snotlout and Hookfang then landed on the sea stack. "Okay, good. We're all here. Snotlout, you and Hookfang are the evil dragon this time."

"Actually, I thought we'd sit this one out. Maybe go on a nice flight, take the sights." Snotlout said, to the others surprise. "I just want to make sure that he's well rested."

"I completely approve of that plan." Hicca said, smiling.

"I thought your dad says, 'rest is for the weak'?" Astrid said.

"Turns out my dad knows absolutely nothing about dragons." Snotlout replied. "I just want to take it easy until Hookfang is back to his old self." For fun, Hookfang decided to toss Snotlout in the air and set himself on fire before catching his rider. "Stupid dragon!"

"Okay, good. Back to his old self." Hiccup said and looked at the other dragon riders. "Okay then, Raeda and Sparkfire you guys are going to be the bad guys now. Shall we?"

The seven dragon riders flew off for their exercise while Snotlout and Hookfang flew off for their quality time.


	6. Fright Of Passage

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 6: Fright of Passage**

 _[Flashback 10 years ago]_

 _Berk was in terror as the skies were filled with strange bright lights. The time that all vikings know too well has arrived._

 _"_ _Aurvandil's Fire! All Berkians to the safety of your homes!"_

 _"_ _It's too late! The Flightmare is here! The Flightmare is here!"_

 _"_ _Oh, don't look at it!"_

 _"_ _Save yourselves! The Flightmare is upon us!"_

 _But one of the Berkians wasn't afraid of the Flightmare. The brave warrior was known as Fearless Finn Hofferson, Astrid Hoffersons' uncle. With his sword and shield ready, the man was about to go confront the Flightmare when he spotted his niece holding an axe her size, clearly having the same idea as her uncle. Finn stopped her "Oh, no, you don't Astrid. This is not a battle for you. Not yet anyway. You wait here. Your Uncle Finn is just going to make sure this nasty dragon doesn't destroy Berk again." Reluctantly Astrid stood there and watched her uncle run off to confront the Flightmare._

 _Fearless Finn ran towards the Flightmare, shouting at it. "Here I am, ungodly beast! Fearless Finn Hofferson! I've been waiting ten years for this moment. Come and get me, if you dare!" He caught the dragons' attention and the dragon immediately attacked it, seeming to give out some sort of mist. But for some reason, instead of trying to dodge or attack the Flightmare, Fearless Finn just stood there, seemingly paralyzed._

 _The Flightmare got away and some of the vikings saw what happened._

 _"_ _It's Fearless Finn! He just... froze!"_

 _"_ _Don't say anything. The little one will hear."_

 _"_ _It's gonna take a lot more than that wee axe, Astrid." Gobber said to Astrid._

 _From that day, Finn Hofferson lost his reputation for being fearless and gained a new reputation that followed him to his grave. Astrid promised herself that she would fight the Flightmare and restore her familys' honor._

 _[End Flashback]_

The time has come for Aurvandil's Fire and Astrid had wasted no time preparing for the Flightmare, to the concern of some of her friends.

"You want some of this?!" Astrid exclaimed, swinging her axe at a target. "That's right! Who's next?!"

Hiccup, deciding to be brave, stepped in to try to calm Astrid down. "I-I'm pretty sure that- yeah, I-I think you got them. All of them." He said gesturing to the destroyed targets littering the Academy.

"Astrid's been killing inanimate objects all day." Fishlegs pointed out.

"She also did that yesterday. I had to hide my bow and arrows from her." Raeda chimed in.

"She's really wound up about the Flightmare." Hiccup explained.

"She's preparing herself for a fight." Hicca added.

"Too bad she's wasting her time." Snotlout snorted. "When the Flightmare comes, the Hoffersons freeze. Right, Astrid? I mean, you _are_ a..."

He was interrupted when Astrid swung her axe at him, which landed on the wall, just inches away from the Jorgenson boys' face. "…Hofferson."

"Word to the wise Snotlout, keep your mouth shut about the Flightmare thing if you want to live." Hicca advised.

"Okay, okay, let's take a deep breath. Just because Aurvandil's Fire is coming, doesn't mean the Flightmare is, too." Hiccup pointed out.

Unfortunately for him, Fishlegs just couldn't miss the opportunity to share his dragon knowledge. "Sure, it does. Every ten years the sky lights up with Aurvandil's Fire, and when it does the Flightmare appears. Its spectral glow and banshee-like scream are unmistakable."

"You were saying?" Astrid said to Hiccup with one eyebrow raised.

"Thank you, Fishlegs." Hiccup said sarcastically. "Your extensive knowledge of the Flightmare is timely, if nothing else."

"Yep your knowledge really helps the situation at the moment." Raeda said with equal sarcasm.

Fishlegs did not detect the sarcasm at all. "I do fancy myself to be Berks' leading authority on the subject. Here's a few more fun facts. Legend has it that the Flightmare is so terrifying, it actually freezes its prey in their tracks."

"Yeah. Just ask Frozen Finn Hofferson. Right, Astrid?" Snotlout joked.

That made Astrid lose her temper, and caused her to punch Snotlout to the ground, put her boot in his face and point her axe at him.

"You think it's funny Snotlout?!" Astrid demanded. "You think it's a joke that my family name was ruined by that dragon?!"

"Well, I used to, just a couple of minutes ago. But, now I can see how it might be upsetting you." Snotlout wheezed.

"Might be? Try completely at the moment." Raeda commented.

"I warned him, but does he listen, noo..." Hicca said, shaking her head at her cousins' stupidity.

( **A/N: Thanks once again goes to snake screamer for helping me with this scene** )

The Thorston twins decided to come to the Academy at this time, bringing a wheelbarrow with them. "Have you guys heard? The Flightmare's coming." Tuffnut said, clearly neither he nor his sister heard what the others were talking about.

"Guys, we're really trying not to talk about that." Hiccup whispered to the blonde twins, hoping they would understand, but that was a long shot.

"Hate to break it to you, but that's the only thing anyone's talking about." Ruffnut mentioned.

"Well, that and Astrid's Uncle." Tuffnut piped in.

"Why, Tuffnut why?" Hicca said, face-palming.

"What? It's not like I'm lying." Tuffnut said, oblivious to the tension.

"Hey, a little sensitivity here." Snotlout begged, still on the ground with Astrids' boot to his face. "Can I get up now?"

Astrid got her foot off him. "Ugh, whatever." She got on Stormfly and flew out of the Academy.

"So, thanks a lot, guys." Hiccup said sarcastically to the Thorston twins.

"No problem." Tuffnut said, missing the sarcasm. He then picked the wheelbarrow up. "If you don't need us anymore, we gotta go get ready for the end of the world. See ya!"

Raeda then went to the blonde twins with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Hey Ruff, Tuff, wait up!" Went she got close to the two, she whispered to them. "You guys want to make a bet?"

"We're listening." Ruffnut and Tuffnut whispered back, ready to hear about the bet and the reward.

Later on Astrid came back with Stormfly to get some supplies for a trip. The Hofferson girl noticed Hiccup walking towards her and Stormfly. "I don't want to hear it, Hiccup. I've waited my entire life for a chance to clear my family's name, and you're not going to stop me." Astrid said.

"Who said anything about stopping you?" Hiccup asked innocently.

Astrid just replied by giving him a knowing look, clearly not buying his act.

Hiccup gave in. "Okay, Astrid, I have to stop you. Look, nobody loves a new and terrifying dragon more than I do, except for Hicca, but we need you guys here to protect Berk. If that things does show up, it's going to take all of us fight it off."

"Not if never gets here." Astrid argued. "Come on, Hiccup. Don't tell me you haven't been dreaming about the Flightmare, going after it, learning about it, training it?"

"Well, you know, Astrid, training dragons isn't the only thing I think about." Hiccup answered.

"Are you actually saying that to me with a straight face?" Astrid asked in disbelief. She knew the Haddock boy too well.

He was about to respond to that when Fishlegs, Hicca and Raeda walked in.

"There you are, Hiccup. We did the research you asked for." Fishlegs said.

"Not now, Fishlegs." Hiccup whispered to him, looking nervously at Astrid.

Hicca quickly understood. "Oh, I see your busy talking to Astrid."

"No problem, this can wait." Raeda said.

But Fishlegs couldn't wait any longer to share what they found out. "No, this can't wait. We have the path of the Flightmare right on this map." He said, holding out the marked map. "For generations, it's gone through the Northern Swamp on the way to the village, same route every time. If I could only figure out why, we might be able to stop it."

"Fishlegs, Astrid doesn't want to talk about the Flightmare." Hiccup said, trying to get Fishlegs to stop.

"Of course she does." Fishlegs said.

"Sure, I do." Astrid agreed, wanting to know more.

"See?" Fishlegs said, not noticing the head slicing gesture Hicca was making to get him to stop. He continued with his explanation. "So, as I was saying, if you want to get close to it, you're going to have to be stealthy, virtually invisible in the dark."

This gave Astrid an idea. "Kind of like a Night Fury?" She asked, looking at Midnight and Toothless.

"No, not at all like a Night Fury." Raeda answered quickly.

"What are you saying, Rae. It's exactly like a Night Fury." Fishlegs corrected to Hiccup, Hicca and Raedas' dismay

At that, Astrid immediately hopped onto Toothless, much to the Night Furys' confusion. "So, when do we leave?"

"Great job, Fishlegs." Raeda said to the Ingerman boy.

While the five of them prepared for their search for the Flightmare, everyone else on Berk where running around the village, as Aurvandil's Fire started dancing across the sky.

"Aurvandil's Fire is here! Get to your homes and stay inside!" Gobber shouted to the vikings as the ran by him. He then saw Snotlout and Hookfang walked by. "Snotlout, did you not hear what I just said? Get that dragon into its cage and you into yours!"

"No way. If the Flightmare obliterates us all, then the last face I want to see, besides my own of course, is this one." Snotlout said, gesturing Hookfangs' face, though the Monstrous Nightmare didn't seem to agree with that plan.

Two vikings then passed them, heading to the direction of the Dragon Academy.

"Hurry up, before the emergency bunker is full." One of the viking said.

"Are you sure we can get in? I hear it's very exclusive." The other viking said, worriedly.

"Don't worry, I know people."

Snotlout, who overheard that conversation, was confused and curious. "Hey, what was that all about?"

"Oh, I'm surprised you didn't know. Ruffnut and Tuffnut built an emergency bunker in the Academy." Gobber informed the boy.

"Emergency bunker?" Snotlout repeated, his curiosity growing. He turned to Hookfang. "What do you say we check it out?"

"I wouldn't waste your time. It's been booked up for months." Gobber said, before going off to prepare for Aurvandil's Fire.

Snotlout scoffed at that. "Hah, we'll see about that."

In the Academy, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were discussing plans for their emergency bunker. "Okay. Lots of people are gonna want to get into our awesome emergency bunker when the Flightmare attacks. So, we need to have a secret signal to know who's in and who's out." Tuffnut said to his twin.

Ruffnut responded by elbowing him on the shoulder. "How's that?" She asked.

"Not bad, but I feel like there should be a few more steps to it." Tuffnut commented.

Ruffnut thought about it for a second, before punching her brother in the face. "What about that?"

"I like it." Tuffnut said before asking. "You sure it's not too complicated?" He then spotted Snotlout walking towards them and the bunker. "Hey, Mister. Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh, inside the emergency bunker." Snotlout replied.

"Are you on the list?" Tuffnut asked.

"Pfft. List?" Snotlout scoffed,

Ruffnut pulled out a scroll and read through it. "Let's see here. Snothat, Snotman, Snotnose. Nope. Not on the list."

"Sorry. Unless you're friends with Snotman." Tuffnut said to Snotlout.

"What do you mean, 'Sorry'?" Snotlout asked in disbelief.

"This is a very exclusive bunker, my friend. We can't just let anyone in." Tuffnut explained before spotting Gustav walk behind Snotlout "Hey, Gustav." He let the younger boy passed them, into the bunker.

"GUSTAV?!" Snotlout exclaimed, indignantly.

"Bunker time! Ha-ha." Gustav said, as he got in the bunker.

"You're either in or out, pal, but you can't stand there." Ruffnut said to Snotlout.

Ruffnut gave a silent signal to Tuffnut, causing the blonde boy to turn to Snotlout. "Listen, you seem like a nice kid. Tell you what I'll do for you. If you want to get into the bunker, maybe you can find us one of these." He showed a different parchment to Snotlout.

Snotlout read the parchment in disbelief. "Ugh, you've got to be kidding me. Ugh, fine. Come on, Hookfang." He turned to leave the Academy, but was surprised to find his dragon walking into the bunker.

"He's on the list." Ruffnut explained to Snotlout.

Snotlout grumbled as he walked away.

Meanwhile Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda, and Astrid have set off with Hiccup and Astrid on Toothless and Hicca and Raeda on Midnight, to search for the Flightmare. Fishlegs stayed behind to do some more research on the Flightmare.

"Okay, we are going to observe the Flightmare, Astrid. We are going to see what we can learn about it, try to redirect it. If we can't, we are falling back to town. Understand?" Hiccup said to the others, mainly to Astrid.

"Sure." Astrid said half-heartedly.

That didn't convince Hiccup. "Say the words 'I understand, Hiccup.'."

"Fine. I understand, Hiccup." Astrid said, still half-heartedly.

"Hiccup, we both know that understanding an order is one thing and actually following it is another thing entirely." Hicca pointed out.

"Well, that just instills me with confidence." Hiccup said sarcastically. He saw where they were heading, then looked back into the map. "There's the Northern Swamp. Sounds like we're getting close."

"Good. I can't wait to see this thing." Astrid said with determination.

"Well, you won't have to wait long. Remember, observe only!" Hiccup reminded.

"Why do you say that as if she's actually going to listen to you?" Raeda asked, rhetorically.

Before Hiccup could answer her, the Flightmare suddenly came out from the trees and into the groups' sight. The five teens were in shock and awe as they saw the legendary and mysterious dragon for the first time. The glow of the dragon was so bright, it was almost blinding. "Okay. Well, it certainly lives up to the hype." Hiccup commented.

Hicca then noticed Astrid getting off Toothless with her axe in her hands. "Astrid, wait!"

That caught Hiccups' attention as he turned to see Astrid running towards the Flightmare with her axe. "Astrid! What're you doing?!"

 **"** What do you think I'm doing?! Defending Berk! And my family honor! We'll see who's a coward!" Astrid shouted. She ran up to the Flightmare and pointed her axe at it. "Leave Berk now and never come back! Here I am, ungodly beast, Fearless Astrid Hofferson! Come and get me, if you dare!"

The Flightmare took that challenge and turned its' attention to the small blonde girl. It shot a mist at her, which made Astrid freeze up, just like her uncle did.

"ASTRID!" Hiccup shouted his heartbeat increasing.

"Come on, Midnight!" Hicca exclaimed to her dragon. Immediately, the female Night Fury flew towards the larger dragon. She started firing plasma blast to keep the Flightmares' attention away from Astrid. That gave Hiccup and Toothless the opportunity to swoop in and take the paralyzed Astrid. "Okay. Gotta go! Gotta go!" Hiccup urged once he got Astrid and got back on Toothless. The male Night Fury then fired a plasma blast at the Flightmare from behind giving Midnight a chance to escape. The two Night Furies flew as fast as they could away from the terrifying dragon.

Hiccup looked behind him. "I think we lost him." He looked at Astrid and noticed that she began to move. "Astrid!" He said in relief

"What- what happened?" Astrid asked, feeling disoriented.

"The Flightmare sprayed you with some kind of mist. It paralyzed you." Hiccup explained.

"It _froze_ me." Astrid said.

"Yeah, the Flightmare actually freezes his victims. The book of Dragons doesn't mention anything about it probably because none of the victims who've escaped have ever recall anything that happens after they get hit with the mist.

"The good news is the effects are only temporary, just long enough for it to strike." Hiccup said, really glad for that fact.

"I knew my uncle wasn't afraid of that dragon. He was paralyzed by it." Astrid said, happy to have another way to save her uncles' honor. She then tried to see where they were going. "And, let me guess: We're falling back to town?"

"No. We're following the Flightmare. We are the only thing between that dragon and Berk." Hiccup declared.

"Yes!" Astrid exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air.

"Uh, question. How are we going to fight against a dragon that can paralyze us by its' mist?" Raeda asked.

"I guess we'll figure that out when we confront it again." Hicca answered.

The group flew back to where they last saw the Flightmare. When they looked at the ground, they were surprised by what they saw. "What in the name of Thor?" Hiccup muttered. Below them was a river that seemed to be…glowing?

Back at the Academy, Snotlout came back to the emergency bunker with his hands behind his back.

Tuffnut stopped him. "Hey, what's the password?"

"I'm gonna break your face." Snotlout growled.

Tuffnut considered that, as if it was an actual suggestion, and shrugged. "Close enough."

"I got what you asked for." The Jorgenson boy said, holding up a rainbow-colored chicken, which was clearly painted on.

But it wasn't like Ruffnut and Tuffnut could tell the difference. "It's real! I totally though I dreamed it!" Tuffnut exclaimed, admiring the chicken.

"So, let me in." Snotlout demanded.

Ruffnut gave a smirk. "Oh, did we say _one_ rainbow-colored chicken? We meant _two_ rainbow-colored chickens. Sorry."

But Snotlout wasn't deterred by that. In fact he gave a smug smile. "Oh, that's why I brought a spare." He said, taking out his other hand which had another colorful chicken. "Now, let me in. The Flightmare will be here any minute."

"Okay. You're halfway there." Tuffnut said.

"What? Halfway?" Snotlout repeated in disbelief.

"We have a few more things for you to get before we can let you in, buddy. Sorry." Ruffnut said, though she didn't seem too sorry at all.

Snotlout looked at the two blonde twins, still in disbelief. "Eh, you have got to be kidding me."

Tuffnut got closer to Snotlout. "Look closely at my face." He said, pointing to his face.

"But don't look too closely at his face, because you might go blind." Ruffnut advised.

Tuffnut didn't seem to detect the insult as he continued. "Does it look like I'm kidding?"

Ruffnut then opened the door to the emergency bunker to go in. Snotlout got a really brief sight of the inside and saw Hookfang among the crowd. A scent then breezed through his nose. "Oh, that wouldn't be yak butter parfait I smell, would it?" He sighed.

"As a matter of fact it is." Tuffnut said, before he went inside as well, closing the door on Snotlouts' face.

At the Ingerman Household, Fishlegs was busy going through some notes while Meatlug was eating some rocks. "Why does the Flightmare always take the same route into Berk?" The blonde boy wondered to himself. "It always follows the stream from the Northern Swamp into the village. Why does it follow the water? What is it about that stream?" He looked to Meatlug, only to find that the Gronckle was too busy eating to listen to him. "How can you eat at a time like this?" A realization then came to him. "Wait, that's it! Meatlug, you're a genius! The Flightmare is following..."

"Glowing algae." Hiccup said, as he Hicca, Raeda, Astrid, Midnight and Toothless inspected the river. "The glow must be some sort of reaction to Aurvandil's Fire." He said to the others. "This must be what the Flightmare is following. That's why it always takes the same path to the village."

"That explains why it always attacks Berk." Hicca said, understanding what her brother was saying.

But Astrid didn't. "Not getting it."

"You ever tried to get between Snotlout and a bowl of mutton?" Hiccup asked.

"Yep, it was not a pretty sight." Raeda answered.

"Yeah. That's something you only do once." Astrid agreed. She then understood. "I get it. The Flightmare thinks we want its food."

"It attacks because it sees us as a threat to its very survival." Hiccup said.

The group then heard a familiar roar in the distance. "And speaking of threats..." Astrid trailed off, knowing that the Flightmare was getting closer.

"Quick, we need to get Toothless and Midnight up in the air so we can hide." Hiccup instructed.

Raeda and Astrid both saw what the two Night Furies were up to.

"Uh, guys." Raeda said to Hicca and Hiccup.

"Yeah, don't think that's going to happen." Astrid said.

The Haddock twins turned to see their dragons were drinking the algae.

"Ah, Toothless." Hiccup said in exasperation.

"Midnight! You don't know if that's safe for you to drink or not!" Hicca said.

'But it tastes so good!' Midnight warbled.

'Definitely worth it.' Toothless agreed.

Toothless then began to glow bright purple while Midnight began to glow bright pink.

"Well so much for the camouflage. There's no way the Flightmare can miss two glowing Night Furies." Raeda pointed out.

"We don't have many options. We need to go before the Flightmare comes." Hicca said.

The four teens got on the Night Furies and flew out as fast as they could.

Hiccup turned and saw that the Flightmare not only spotted them, but also started chasing them. "It's right behind us!"

"I don't think it's too happy with Midnight and Toothless taking some of its' food source." Hicca said, also looking back at the Flightmare.

"What do we do?" Astrid asked, the Haddock twins.

Hiccup got an answer when he saw the clouds. "Toothless, to the clouds!"

Hicca caught on to her brothers' plan. "I hope this works. Midnight follow them!"

The two Night Furies raced right into the dark clouds, checking their surroundings for any signs of the Flightmare.

"You think we lost him?" Astrid asked.

"I doubt it. I can still see Toothless through these clouds thanks to the glow." Raeda answered.

As if to prove her point, the Flightmare suddenly appeared in front of the group. "Yep, Raeda's right. Let's move!" Hiccup said.

Toothless and Midnight tried to maneuver out of the Flightmares' way, but the larger dragon suddenly gave out blindingly bright light, that it became impossible for either dragons or teens to see anything. Because of this, the group fell out of the clouds and thankfully, onto a ground instead of the water. Hiccup, Astrid, Hicca and Raeda flew off Midnight and Toothless and landed a little further back. The Flightmare then came and glared at Toothless and Midnight.

"Toothless/Midnight roll!" Hicca and Hiccup commanded.

The two Night furies moved out of the way, just in time to avoid getting hit by the paralyzing mist. Hicca and Hiccup ran to their dragons while Raeda covered both of them by shooting arrows at the Flightmare. The larger dragon then set its sights onto the Henderson girl, until it got hit in the face by a branch.

"HEY!" Astrid yelled to the Flightmare holding her axe in her hands. The Flightmare then flew after her.

"ASTRID!" Hiccup yelled, worried for the blonde girls' safety.

The Flightmare fired another paralyzing mist at her, but this time Astrid somersaulted out of the way. Hiccup, Raeda and Hicca got back on their dragons and flew up. Hiccup and Toothless flew towards Astrid, allowing her to jump on Toothless just in time to avoid the Flightmares' mist. The two Night Furies then flew off with the Flightmare right behind them.

Astrid then noticed something that could help them. "Guys, look!" She said pointing to a large cave ahead of them. Hiccup and Hicca wasted no time steering Toothless and Midnight into that cave. Luckily, the Flightmare didn't see them making that sharp turn and kept flying ahead.

The group waited a few minutes to see if the Flightmare would come back. Once they were certain that the Flightmare was gone, they came out of the cave. Then the glow from the Night Furies started to wear off.

"At least the glow wears off." Hiccup said in relief.

"That's good, and there doesn't seem to be any negative side effects." Hicca noted, looking at both Midnight and Toothless. "But just to be sure, I'm giving you both a mandatory check-up when we get back."

They then took to the skies again and followed the Flightmare, who decided to follow the glowing algae to Berk.

"Okay, how do we stop the Flightmare before it reaches the village?" Astrid asked.

"And how do we keep it from shooting its' paralyzing mist at us?" Raeda asked.

"I don't know, but we need to think of a plan and fast." Hicca said.

"Fishlegs." Hiccup suddenly said, to the confusion of the girls.

"How's he gonna help?" Astrid asked.

"By bringing you some reinforcements." A voice suddenly answered. Astrid, Raeda and Hicca turned to see Fishlegs and Meatlug flying towards them, and with them were Stormfly and Sparkfire.

"Perfect timing, Sparkfire!" Raeda said, smiling as she jumped from Midnight onto Sparkfire.

"Stormfly! Good to see you, girl." Astrid said, as she got onto her dragon.

"Fishlegs, the Academy is supposed to be on lock-down." Hiccup reminded the blonde boy.

"I know, but I was following the stream because I think I figured out a way to stop the Flightmare from reaching town." Fishlegs explained. He pointed to the glowing river.

It took a few seconds for Hiccup and Hicca to understand the plan. "We cut a new channel for the river..." Hiccup trailed off.

"And divert the flow of glowing algae out to the sea!" Fishlegs finished.

"And it will give the Flightmare a new path to follow away from the village." Hicca added.

"Exactly, Toothless, Midnight, Stormfly, Sparkfire, Meatlug, it's time to do a little emergency landscaping." Hiccup said to the dragons.

While the five teens and dragons went to work on their plan, Snotlout made it back to the emergency bunker with the items on the list and Tuffnut was checking through them. "Yak head, check. Yak body, check. Sheep dip, check. Bread for the sheep dip, gotta have that, check. Lingonberry smoothie, shaken, not stirred, check." Tuffnut listed. He then paused, glancing back and forth between the items and the list. "Hold on, nobody move."

Ruffnut looked to see what the problem was and found it "I don't see it."

"Me neither." Tuffnut agreed.

"What? See what?" Snotlout demanded, frustrated at having to spend hours looking for all those things, only to appear to be missing something.

"A sturgeon dressed like Stoick!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut both said.

But to the twins surprised, Snotlout pulled out a sturgeon with a tiny helmet and a belt on it. "Ah-ha! That's everything. Now let me in!" He said, walking in the bunker.

But Tuffnut blocked him "We would love to, Snotlout, really we would, but you forgot the most important thing on the list."

"Singing Terrible Terror!" The Thorston twins said.

"What? Give me that!" Snotlout said, annoyed as he snatched the list. "You just wrote this in!"

"No, we did not!" Tuffnut defended.

"Yes, you did! It's in a different colored ink." Snotlout argued.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ruffnut said with a shrug.

"Arguing with bunker management can result in permanent banishment." Tuffnut warned. "And that's a lot of big words."

With an annoyed growl, Snotlout walked away. "Singing Terrible Terror..."

Meanwhile, rest of the dragon riders were following the Flightmare down the river stream. Fishlegs gasped as he sees the Flightmare up close for the first time. "A live Flightmare. It's- it's- it's- it's-"

He wasn't able to form the words, but Astrid was. "It's _mine_!" She said with determination.

"Remember, Astrid. Don't let revenge cloud your judgment. Not with this dragon." Raeda warned.

"Don't worry, Rae. I'm not letting this dragon win again." Astrid vowed.

The two girls and Nadders flew off and attacked the Flightmare, diverting its' attention away from the stream.

This gave Hicca, Hiccup and Fishlegs a chance to carry out their plan.

"Okay, bud, time for us to do what we came here for." Hiccup said to Toothless.

Toothless and Midnight were firing plasma blasts at the ground, creating a new path for the stream.

"That's it, girl, nice and smooth." Hicca encouraged.

Suddenly the Flightmare turned to the ground and was not happy to see the teens and dragons firing near its' food source.

Meatlug was busy firing lava blasts at the current path, blocking it and causing the water to move on to the new path. "That-a-girl, Meatlug!" Fishlegs praised. Suddenly the Flightmare appeared before them and sprayed its' paralyzing mist, successfully trapping both Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Oh, no!" Raeda said.

"Hiccup, Hicca, the Flightmare got Fishlegs!" Astrid exclaimed.

The Flightmare moved to attack the boy and Gronckle when it got blocked by Sparkfire and Stormfly.

Toothless flew in and grabbed Fishlegs, while Midnight grabbed Meatlug and brought them away from the Flightmare.

The effect started to wear off on Fishlegs. "What just happened to me?" He asked in confusion.

"The Flightmare; Its mist temporarily paralyzes you." Hiccup explained.

"It lasts for a short period of time. I guess it depends on the amount of mist the person inhales." Hicca inferred.

"Thank Thor. I need my legs. They're in my name, after all." Fishlegs said, breathing a sigh of relief, happy to be able to move again. He then got back on Meatlug, who was also able to move again.

The six of them went back to the ground and continued building the new path. They were once again spotted by the Flightmare.

"Look out!" Astrid warned.

Midnight, Toothless and Meatlug flew up once again to avoid the mist from the Flightmare.

"Okay, guys we need to keep cutting that channel, but the Flightmare is guarding it." Hiccup said to the others.

"At this rate it's going to take forever to open up a new channel." Raeda said.

Astrid then came up with a new plan. "I think I have a way to distract it, the algae. Let's give the Flightmare a taste of its own medicine."

Hiccup liked that plan. "Astrid, lead the way!"

Astrid and Stormfly guided the others towards the glowing algae. "Time for a little midnight snack!"

"Chow down, guys!" Hiccup said to the dragons.

"Keep in mind, once this is over I'm giving you guys a mandatory check-up to make sure there is no negative side effects to the algae." Hicca said to the dragons.

The five dragons ate the algae and got the glow. Toothless and Midnight had the same color glow as before while Sparkfire had a bright red glow, Stormfly had a light blue and Meatlug a bright green.

"This is so going down in sketchbook." Raeda said, looking at the five glowing dragons.

"I always knew that was her color." Fishlegs commented, admiring the glow on his dragon. "We're going to knit you a matching blanket when we get home, Meatlug."

Astrid turned her attention to the Flightmare. "Okay, it's time to see who the real coward is."

The five dragons flew after the Flightmare. The larger dragon sensed their presence and turned around. But before it could attack, the five glowing started flying around the dragon at a fast pace, their bright glows filling the Flightmares' sight. The Flightmare tried to avoid the lights, but found nowhere to go. Soon the bright lights became too much for the Flightmare and he fell to the ground.

"There's our chance, bro. Let's hurry before it gets back up." Hicca said to her twin.

Hiccup nodded to her "Toothless, let's finish off that channel."

The Night Furies fired away plasma blasts to the ground, extending the pathway for the new channel. Soon the channel got connected to the sea.

By the time they were finished, The Flightmare recover and flew up again. It then noticed the new channel and followed it out to the sea, leaving the path set for Berk.

"We did it!" Astrid exclaimed in triumph, happy to finally be able to restore her familys' honor.

"No more fear during Aurvandil's Fire." Raeda said in relief.

"Now, let's get home before anyone notices we're gone." Hiccup said.

Everyone happily agreed as they set off back to Berk.

At Berk, Gobber was positioned near the catapults, ready to launch when the Flightmare comes. Or that was the plan until the dragon dentist decided to sneak in a nap.

Stoick walked up to the catapult to see what Gobber was up to when he noticed something bright in the distance. The chief immediately ran to Gobber and shook him awake. "Gobber!"

"Oh, that yak butter melts in my mouth." Gobber murmured.

"Wake up!" Stoick said as he shook his friend up some more.

Gobber immediately jolted awake. "Sorry, Stoick. I had this dream. You and me were-"

Stoick immediately interrupted him. "Not another word. Sound the alarm. The Flightmare is coming." Gobber immediately grabbed the horn and blew sending out a warning to the villagers to take cover. The two men then ran to the Plaza keeping their eyes on the bright glow coming their way. The Berkian chief then noticed that there was more than one glowing dragon. "Thor's hammer! There's more than one of them."

Gobber squinted his eyes and noticed something. "Wait, Stoick! Those aren't Flightmares!" Stoick got a better look, and sure enough instead of five Flightmares, there were five familiar dragons landing in the plaza. "Hiccup, Hicca, slap me in the face. Your dragons are glowing. I must still be dreaming."

"Gobber, you're wide awake. And they _are_ glowing." Hiccup reassured. "Long story. The good news is we drove the Flightmare away."

"We made a new path for the Flightmare to go to so that he doesn't come anywhere near Berk." Hicca added.

"You did? Well done, Hiccup and Hicca! Well done!" He then spoke in his loud, booming voice. "Everyone! You can come out of your homes! The Flightmare is gone for good."

The villagers came out of their houses, talking to one another wanting to know if this was true and if so what happened. The news spread all around the village and even reached the emergency bunker in the Academy.

"Excuse me, I have an announcement to make." Hiccup shouted, getting everyones' attention. "We learned a lot about the Flightmare tonight and I will explain it all to you. But the important thing we learned was that Fearless Finn Hofferson was indeed fearless, just like _all_ the Hoffersons." He said, looking at Astrid proudly.

"Sounds like you did your uncle proud, lass." Gobber said to Astrid. The blonde shield maiden replied with a smile.

"Now, maybe we can just enjoy Aurvandil's Fire." Stoick said glad to be done with worrying over the Flightmare.

"You bet. And now I can finally capture the beauty that is Aurvandil's Fire. I've been wanting this for so long." Raeda said, looking up at the sky.

"Hey, I want a glowing dragon." Tuffnut pouted.

"Yeah, me too." Ruffnut agreed.

Tuffnut then smirked when a thought came to his mind. "Put that on Snotlout's list..."

Raeda then saw the Thorston twins and walked to them. "Well?"

"It worked. He got everything on the list." Tuffnut reported.

"Even the singing Terror?" Raeda asked.

"Even the singing Terror." Ruffnut answered.

"Great job, guys." Raeda praised.

"We held up our end of the bet, now it's time for you to do yours." Tuffnut reminded her.

"Gladly, after four days each of you will have a portrait of yourself on a shield." Raeda promised.

The Thorston twins slammed their heads together in celebration.

( **A/N: Thanks again to snake screamer for giving me the idea that Raeda should be a part of the prank the twins played on Snotlout, because I did not think of that.** )

Meanwhile oblivious to what happened, Snotlout made it back to the now empty emergency bunker with a singing Terrible Terror in his hand. It was more like a screeching Terrible Terror, but the Jorgenson boy figure that neither of the blonde twins would be able to tell the difference. "Hello? Hello? I have your singing Terrible Terror." Snotlout called out to the bunker, only to discover that it was empty. He suddenly got annoyed when the Terrible Terror continued to screech. "Will you please shut up! I just really wanted that yak butter parfait..."


	7. Worst In Show

**A/N: Another update, yay! Just a few things**

 **1) When working on this chapter, but one day the document wouldn't open because it was unreadable so I had to write the whole chapter again :( Can anyone suggest a way to recover the files in cases like this? Please do.**

 **2) The updates may be a bit slower because of my college restarting, but that doesn't mean I will abandon my stories. I will continue this and I do have ideas for HTTYD2 and RTTE so I will be working on that soon. Be patient and please don't give up on my stories?**

 **3) I want to take a poll, would you guys like to see the baby Night Furies in HTTYD2 or RTTE? Answer on the poll and I will decide accordingly.**

 **Finally, here's the story. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 7: Worst in show**

Under the grounds of Berk, Alvin, Savage and Mildew were walking through the tunnels created by the Whispering Deaths and the Screaming Death. Alvin stopped when he stepped on an egg shell. "Huh." He picked up the broken egg shell. "Anyone care to tell me what this looks like?" He asked rhetorically, holding up the broken egg shell.

"A waste of perfectly good Whispering Death eggs?" Savage answered.

The Outcast chief then dropped the egg shell and drew out his sword. "This was your plan, Mildew. 'Oh, plant the eggs under Berk,' you said." He said, backing Mildew into a boulder. "'They'll hatch and destroy the village, will be no one left to get in your way, Alvin.'"

"Well, I don't remember saying all that." Mildew said meekly.

"Eh, doesn't really matter now, does it?" With that, Alvin raised his sword, getting ready to finish off Mildew.

"Now, now, wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" The old man pleaded.

"Why should I?" Alvin demanded.

Mildew whimpered as he tried to come up with a good answer. "Look at the positive, Alvin."

"That's not really my strong suit now, is it?" Alvin asked, sword still up.

"Think about , when life gives you fish heads, what do you do?"

"I take it out on people like you." Alvin replied.

"Well, yes. That too." Mildew admitted. Alvin then prepared the sword again. "But... but... but... but... you can also make a delicious chowder."

Alvin suddenly brought down the sword, but he only hit Mildew on his shoulder blade. "I like chowder."

"Well, these tunnels are your chowder." Mildew said, trying to move away from Alvin and the sword. "They'll lead you right to the Berk dragon training academy."

"Eh, and what would I do when I get there?" Alvin asked.

"Well, the better question is, what wouldn't you do?" Mildew replied, happy to have found a way to save himself. "What couldn't you do?Spying? Kidnapping?Dragon killing?"

"Or all of the above..." Alvin said with a evil grin on his face. He then retracted his sword. "I like it! You're in luck, Mildew!I'm not gonna kill you right now."

Mildew watched as the Outcast leader walked away. "I hate it when he says that."

"Trust me, it's better than when he doesn't say it." Savage commented, knowing from experience.

Above grounds, the teens decided to work on their rescue skills. First up were Snotlout and Hookfang. As soon as they got the signal from Fishlegs, they took off and made a beeline or a stuffed dummy sitting on a lone boat in the sea. Snotlout successfully grabbed the dummy as they flew by and held on to it as they flew up. "Yes, Hookfang!Victory loop!"

The other dragon riders and dragons were watching from the top of one of the sea stacks. "You know, I hate to admit it, but Snotlout actually looks like he's worked on his rescue training." Hiccup commented.

He soon took that back when Hookfang decided to take a plunge into the sea, without Snotlouts' consent. The Monstrous Nightmare swam through the sea, ignoring Snotlouts' attempt to protest.

"Uh, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Astrid said.

"Good thing we didn't have an actual person pretending to be the victim." Hicca commented.

Hookfang then flew up against the sea stack, causing Snotlout to drag the dummy along the rocky walls of the sea stack. They finally made it to the top. "Another victim saved." The dummy's head fell off along with a leg and an arm, causing Snotlout to throw the dummy onto the ground

"Yeah, you got the victim part right." Fishlegs commented.

"Shut up, Fishlegs." Snotlout said defensively. "Big deal. So his head fell 's not like he's not on fire or anything."

At the word 'fire' Hookfang suddenly fired at the dummy, then stomped on it to extinguish the fire. Snotlout dared a look at the others, whose expressions were mix with concern and unimpressed.

Fishlegs was about to say something when Snotlout cut him off. "Shut up, Fishlegs."

Next were Astrid and Stormfly. The blonde shield maiden started from the bottom of the sea stack. She had her Nadder shoot a few spikes above her, allowing Astrid to use the spikes to climb up. With each step, the blue Nadder added more spikes above, allowing her rider to climb higher and finally made it back to the top without any problems. "Great work, Astrid."

"'Great work"? Pfft, try lame work." Snotlout sneered. "Hello? Flying dragon?Might be a little quicker to get to the top of the sea stack."

"What if your victim is trapped on the side of the cliff and your dragon can't get you close enough?" Astrid countered. "You ever think of that?"

Clearly Snotlout didn't. "Yes. up, Astrid."

Next up were Raeda and Sparkfire. Before the exercise, Raeda went to the forge to make a new adjustment to her saddle. Now their aim was to rescue a dummy trapped between two sea stacks. The opening of the sea stacks were too narrow for Sparkfire to fly through, but that didn't worry Raeda. The raven haired girl had her dragon fly in the direction above the sea stack and once they were close enough, she dived down for the victim. Thanks to a long rope connecting her belt to the saddle, Raeda was able to rescue the victim without falling into the ocean. They were brought back to the sea stack.

"Great idea, Rae." Hicca commented.

"This could really come in handy." Hiccup said, looking at the device Raeda built on her saddle. He then turned to Fishlegs. "Okay, so, Fishlegs. Looks like you're up."

Fishlegs and Meatlug then flew above the others. "I call this the stop, drop..." He gave a handle signal to Meatlug, causing the Gronckle to stop flying and plummet to the sea stack. Hookfang noticed that he was directly below the Gronckle and immediately flew off without warning his rider, leading to him to fall off the saddle and below Meatlug.

"Oh, no." Snotlout muttered as Meatlug continued to fall.

Meatlug suddenly started hovering again when she was right above Snotlout. "...and hover." Fishlegs finished.

"I like it, Fishlegs." Hiccup said.

"Oh, come on!That's not rescuing. That's falling." Snotlout complained.

"Actually, this is falling." Fishlegs said. He gave a signal to Meatlug to completely drop onto Snotlout.

"That can also work." Hicca said amused.

Snotlout stretched his free hand from under Meatlug. "Hookfang, rescue." The Monstrous Nightmare replied by flying away. Sensing that his dragon was gone, the Jorgenson boy dropped his hand. "Thank you."

Hiccup then turned to the Thorston twins. "Okay, guys. You want to show us your rescue skill now?"

"Sure." Tuffnut said, he and his sister then got ready, but all they did was stare ahead. Everyone watched in silence, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.

"So... let's see it." Hiccup said.

"Uh, you are seeing it." Tuffnut said.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Ruffnut asked.

"Our rescue skill is not falling off this sea way, no actual rescue is necessary." Tuffnut explained.

"Ta-da!" Ruffnut raised her arms up, but in doing so, she accidently shoved her brother off her dragon and off the sea stack and into the ocean.

"They didn't even get that right." Raeda muttered.

"We're still working out the kinks." Ruffnut said.

"I'll go get Tuffnut." Hicca said, getting on Midnight. As soon as they brought Tuffnut back to the sea stack, they went with Hiccup and Toothless to perform their own rescue skill. They flew towards six targets that were set up in the distance.

"Wait for it, guys." Hicca said to the other three.

As soon as they were in a good distance, they executed their skill. "Barrel-roll multiple blast!" The Haddock twins said.

Toothless and Midnight did so, each Night Fury accurately hitting three of the six targets.

They made it back to the sea stack where the other teens 'oohed' at their skill in awe.

Well, all except for Snotlout. "Stop ooh-ing. That's not even a rescue skill."

"Of course it is. You always need cover fire during a knows that." Fishlegs argued. "Very impressive, guys."

"Hey, Fishlegs." Snotlout started to say. "You need some help getting your nose out of Hiccup and Hicca's..."

"Snotlout!" The auburn twins exclaimed, interrupting their cousin.

Fishlegs wasn't bothered by that. "It's okay, 's just mad because he was dead last in the rescue competition. But what else is new?"

"Uh, guys, this isn't a competition." Hiccup said.

"Uh, yes, it is." Tuffnut said.

"You know, they say competition is the very essence of life itself." Ruffnut stated.

Her comment earned stares from the others. "It's true. Weird that she said it like that, but it's true. It's always a competition." Astrid said.

"You can't be serious about that." Hicca said in disbelief.

"We're vikings, it's in our nature. Competition is our main motivator." Raeda stated.

"We are a team. Everyone has a one person is better or more important than another." Hiccup said.

"He's right, there's no keeping scores or seeing who's the best at what." Hicca agreed

Their comments just caused the others to laugh.

"You two don't really buy that, do you?"

"We do, actually. Yes." Hiccup answered. He then realized something. "Wait, do you all feel the way Snotlout does?"

"Uh, Hiccup? Hicca? You ride Toothless and Midnight, two Night the Night Fury is at the top of the charts for intelligence, speed, accuracy, and, well... everything." Meatlug growled at that, not liking that information. Fishlegs patted her in reassurance. "No offense, girl."

"You want to know what I think?" Snotlout asked.

"No!" The others answered immediately.

But Snotlout continued. "I think we'll never know who the best dragon trainer is because we don't have a level playing field."

Fishlegs then got an idea. "Hang on a if we did have a level playing field?What if we could prove once and for all, who's got the skills and who doesn't?"

"Trust me, Fishlegs. You don't want that." Snotlout warned.

"Oh, I think I do." Fishlegs said, accepting the challenged.

He led everyone back into the Academy and then walked out. He came back carrying a crate. He placed the crate down and opened the lid, revealing to contain eight Terrible Terrors.

"Terrible Terrors? This is your level playing field?" Snotlout asked in disbelief.

"As a matter of fact, 'll all choose a Terrible Terror and have a day to train then we'll find out who's best." Fishlegs explained.

Snotlout started laughing at that. "Oh, man. I can't keep a straight face."

But Fishlegs wasn't offended. "I fail to see the humor, Snotlout."

"This will be a good exercise for us." Hicca said quickly. "We all get the same type of dragon with same amount of time to test our abilities to train new dragons."

"Hicca's right." Hiccup agreed. "And also-"

But Snotlout ignored his cousins and addressed Fishlegs. "You don't have a chance to win this, fish-face, and you want to know why?Because there are readers, and there are while you've got your nose buried in the book of dragons,I'm out there kicking names and taking butts!"

"I think you meant that the other way around." Astrid corrected.

Snotlout thought about it and realized she was right. "I mean... Shut up, Astrid."

"Uh, guys, come on." Hiccup tried.

"I'll tell you what, Snotlout." Fishlegs said. "You're so confident in your dragon training superiority... why don't we make this interesting?"

"All ears." Snotlout said.

"Losers clean the winner's stall... for a month." Fishlegs wagered.

"Done!" Snotlout accepted.

"In." Astrid said. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were standing on either side of her, decided to clang their helmets together. Luckily, Astrid anticipated this and ducked just in time.

"Count me in as well." Raeda said.

"Come 're not really going to do this, are we?" Hiccup asked.

"You better strap on your helmets 'cause this guy right here... he's bringing the pain." Snotlout said, pointing to one of the Terrible Terror. He reached out to pick up that dragon when another Terror bit his arm. "Ow! Guess I'll take this one." Snotlout groaned. His voice was strained. "Bringing the pain!"

He took the purple Terrible Terror that was still biting his arm. Fishlegs chose an orange-red Terror, Astrid a turquoise Terror, Ruffnut and Tuffnut two yellow Terrors, Raedalight blue Terror, Hicca a dark red Terror and Hiccup a green-brown colored Terror.

The others went to pick their dragons. "Remember, not a competition!" Hiccup reminded them.

"Yeah, bro. They're not going to listen." Hicca said.

Hiccup sighed, knowing his sister was right. "This is really gonna go bad in a hurry."

Underground, the three trespassers continued to look through the tunnels of Berk, but all they could find were yak farms.

"Well? What do you see?" Alvin demanded to Savage.

His right hand man was standing on Mildews' shoulders, looking through another tunnel. "It's quite something keeps swinging into my face." Savage reported, trying to see clearer. But the darkness was revealed to be two yaks when they started moving away from the Outcast. "Oh, well, that explains it. Another yak farm."

"What is it with you people and your yaks?" Alvin demanded to Mildew, annoyed at finding yet another yak farm.

"Don't look at me. I'm a sheep person." Mildew answered meekly.

"Hang on. I see something." Savage suddenly said. "I think it's the academy."

"How can you be sure?" Alvin asked.

"Well, it's got a sign with a picture of a dragon on it." Savage answered as he got off Mildews' shoulders, to the old man's relief. "Oh, and there are kids in there training dragons. So..."

"That's it! That's the academy." Mildew gasped, though his energy was mostly from the relief knowing that he will be spared from Alvin's wrath.

"Let's hold off on the victory dance, Mildew." Alvin said. "I don't celebrate until I make my first kill."

At the Ingerman Household, Fishlegs wasted no time in starting his training. "Well, trainee, I have quite a rigorous schedule planned for one, we need to name you." He pulled out a parchment with a few names written on it and looked through it. The Terrible Terror sniffed the parchment in curiosity. While Fishlegs was going through the names, Meatlug came into the house carrying a sheep in her mouth (the sheep was surprisingly calm). She came close to her rider and nudged him, tossing the sheep onto the table. Fishlegs just gave her a look. "Sorry, girl, we can't play "toss the sheep" right now." He said, putting the sheep on the ground.

The Gronckle then scooped the sheep back in her mouth and went behind Fishlegs. She tossed the sheep to one end of the room, waddled there, picked up the sheep and repeated that process. "Okay, I've got it narrowed down to Lars or Van." Fishlegs said to the Terrible Terror, ignoring Meatlug. "Maybe Karsten or about Death Wing?Ooh, that's good. Intimidating." He finally notice Meatlug behind him when the sheep continued to bleat every time it got tossed. "No, Meatlug. I can't right 's gotta work on humiliating Snotlout." Dejected, Meatlug slumped to the side of the room near the fire and was joined by the sheep (who surprisingly didn't run away at the first chance. "I'm gonna crush him in the dragon training competition."

Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless came in time to hear that last sentence. "It's not a competition, Fishlegs." Hiccup said. "Listen, Hicca and I of all people know how Snotlout has a way of getting under your skin. We just want to make sure you're not losing perspective in all this." His sister nodded in agreement.

"Death Wing and I?No, we don't plan on losing anything." Fishlegs said, still looking at his Terrible Terror.

"Uh, D-Death Wing?" Hiccup repeated.

"You're choosing that name for a Terrible Terror." Hicca asked.

"Or Iggy. We're not sure do you like?" Fishlegs asked.

"Definitely Iggy." Hicca answered.

Hiccup then noticed Meatlug looking dejected. "Uh, is Meatlug okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't she be?" Fishlegs answered, not bothering to look at Meatlug.

Midnight and Toothless walked to Meatlug, trying to see what's made her upset.

Hicca nudged her brother and tilted her head to the door. Hiccup got the message and nodded. "Okay. Well, good talk." Hiccup said as he and his sister began to leave. "Let's go, guys." He said to the two Night Furies. After giving comforting warbles to Meatlug, the Night Furies joined their humans.

"Okay, Iggy. Time to get serious. Let's do this." Fishlegs said, picking up Iggy. Meatlug watched her rider walk away without her.

The next day came and it was time for the teens to show what they trained their Terrible Terrors. Meatlug waddled into the Academy with the same sheep in her mouth (seriously, how is the sheep not bothered by this). She made a beeline to her human who was giving Iggy a pep-talk. "Oh, Iggy, you can do this, you're the best, most... most well-trained dragon ever." Fishlegs got another nudge from Meatlug and gave her an annoyed look. "No, Meatlug. I can't right now."

Feeling sad, Meatlug went to slumped to the side of the wall again with the sheep in tow.

"Okay, time to show off what we've trained our Terrible Terrors to do." Fishlegs said to the others, oblivious to his Gronckles' sadness. "Why don't you go first, Snotlout?"

"Why don't you go first?" Snotlout retorted.

"Fine. I'll go first." Fishlegs said.

But the Jorgenson boy wasn't happy about that. "Oh, no, you don't! I'll go first!"

"First, second, third... doesn't matter.'Cause in the end, you're gonna come in last."

"Whoa, what got into Fishlegs?" Astrid asked, surprised to see this new side of Fishlegs.

"Looks like he finally grew some..." Tuffnut started to say before Hiccup interrupted him.

"Whoa, how about I go first?" He offered "Especially since along with Hicca, I don't care whether I win or not because this isn't about winning or losing."

"Yeah, you keep selling that." Snotlout said before saying in a sing-song voice. "Loser."

"Ready, Toothless?" Hiccup asked, with his Terror, Sharpshot perched on his arm. Toothless, who was holding three duck carvings on his wing, gave a nod. "Now!" At that, the male Night Fury tossed the carvings up in the air."Sharpshot, fire!" The Terror flew up and fired at the carvings, successfully hitting all three of them before they hit the ground.

"Not bad. You're starting off the competition with a bang, Hiccup." Astrid said.

"It is not a competition!" Hiccup said in exasperation

"Not yet it isn't." Fishlegs said, glaring at Snotlout who glared back.

"Okay, my turn." Hicca said. She brought out a rope. "Astrid, check this rope. Make sure it's not a weak rope that can snap at any time." Astrid did so and nodded to Hicca. "Good, now use it to tie my arms together." She instructed, holding her arms up in front of her.

"Are you sure?" Astrid asked.

"Yep." Hicca answered.

Astrid complied and tied Hicca's arms as best as she could. "Make sure it's tight so I won't be able to slip out of it." Hicca said. As soon as Astrid finished, the auburn girl turned to Fishlegs. "Check the rope and make sure it's not easy to break out of."

Fishlegs did so. "It's fine."

"Good." Hicca said. She then turned to her dragon Scarlet and held her arms in front of her face. "Scarlett cut!" The Terror flew up and using her razor sharp claws, she cut through the ropes freeing Hicca.

"Ta-da!" Hicca said, holding her arms up.

"That is brilliant, sis." Hiccup praised.

"We have to keep this Terror close for our next mission." Fishlegs said.

"Now I'm up." Astrid said. She turned to the others and waved her arms up. "Well, what do you think?"

The others were confused when they saw nothing. "What do we think of what?" Snotlout asked.

"My dragon's stealth skills." Astrid said.

Snotlout snorted. "Right. His skill's so stupid, he didn't even show up."

"Or did he?" Astrid asked.

Snotlout looked up and saw, to his and the others' surprise, Astrids' Terror, Sneaky, has managed to creep up on Snotlout and land on his helmet without him or anyone else noticing.

Tuffnut then turned to Ruffnut and noticed something above her head. "Oh, he's good."

"Yeah." Ruffnut agreed, before asking."Who's good?" She looked up and saw that Sneaky has managed to move from Snotlouts' helmet to her helmet again without anyone noticing.

"Sneaky." Tuffnut said as said Terror flew back to Astrid "Then again, he can't do what Butt and Head can do." He said as the two identical terrors walked to position.

"Let me guess... they're gonna run into each other?" Astrid said, knowingly.

"Ehh, wrong." Tuffnut said smugly.

Butt and Head corrected Astrids' statement by flying towards each other at a fast speed. They head-butted each other and fell to the ground, feeling dazed. "They flew into each other." Ruffnut stated.

"Totally different." Tuffnut said.

"Totally unpredictable." Raeda said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Alright, my turn. No one panic." Before anyone could wonder why she would say that, Raeda turned to her Terrible Terror, Tumbler, and gave him a hand signal. The terror immediately flew straight to Snotlouts' ankles, causing the boy to trip up. The Terror did the same with the other teens it was too fast for anyof them to realize what was going on before they hit the ground. The tiny dragon then flew back to Raeda, the only person still standing with her hands on her hips.

"Opponents are down and defeated." She declared.

"What was that?! That wasn't even fair! We weren't even ready!" Snotlout said indignantly.

"That is your fault, Snotlout. You're a warrior you should be prepared for any kind of sneak attack." Raeda countered.

"You know, strangely, yesterday there were some people complaining about someone tripping them up, but they never saw who it was because that person was too fast and always escape." Hiccup said suspiciously, as he and the others got back up.

"What are you saying Hiccup? That I'm the one responsible for that? I was busy all day yesterday training this little guy." Raeda said innocently.

What everyone failed to notice was that Alvin, Savage and Mildew have climbed out of the closest tunnel near the Academy and have snuck into the stands and were now watching the group below them. "What are they up to?" Alvin muttered.

It was now Fishlegs' turn. "Prepare to be amazed at the smartest little dragon in the archipelago."

Meatlug whined at that. _'There was a time where I use to be the smartest dragon in the archipelago.'_

Fishlegs then pointed to a few crates which have been line up, each crate holding an ordinary item, such as an apple, a sword, a knife and a bucket. He then brought out parchments, each containing a drawing of the items on the crate. He started shuffling the drawings, with the drawings facing the other teens.

Snotlout scoffed, seeming unimpressed.

Fishlegs finally drew out a parchment, which had a picture of an apple. "Iggy, bring me this." He commanded, showing the Terrible Terror the drawing. The Terror took one look at the drawing before flying towards the crate. He successfully got the right item and brought it back to Fishlegs, with Meatlug glaring at him. "Good boy, Iggy. Aw, who's a good little guy?" Fishlegs cooed, oblivious to Meatlugs' sadness at the sight.

"Whatever. Lucky guess." Snotlout scoffed.

"Okay, you choose one." Fishlegs offered.

Snotlout snatched the drawings and picked on, the drawing of a bucket. He showed it to the others before shoving it into Iggys' sight. Iggy then went and got the bucket from the crate, delivering it right at Snotlouts' head.

"Smart dragon." Raeda commented impressed.

"Whoa. I couldn't do that." Tuffnut said.

"Aha." Alvin murmured, wondering what was this trick going to help them achieve.

"Big he plays fetch." Snotlout said, taking the bucket off his head.

"Well, what does your Terrible Terror do?" Fishlegs retorted.

"This." Snotlout said removing the lid from a crate. As soon as he did, his Terrible Terror, Pain, flew out and bit him in the ankle. This caused Snotlout to grunt in pain and hobble on his other foot, which was bandaged on the ankle, until he got his footing and presented his dragon as best as he could while in pain.

"So... so let me get this straight." Fishlegs chuckled, highly amused. "You trained him to bite you?"

"Try and pry him loose. I dare you." Snotlout challenged. "Took Gobber all day yesterday to get him off of this leg." He gestured to his other bandaged leg.

"You're ridiculous. Just tell them I won, guys." Fishlegs said to Hicca and Hiccup.

"Whoa, I don't remember agreeing to be a judge of this competition." Hicca said.

"Sis, this isn't a competition!" Hiccup hissed to his sister.

"Like anyone will listen!" Hicca retorted.

"You won?" Snotlout said to Fishlegs in disbelief."Ha! Get real!"

"It wasn't even close." Fishlegs argued.

It was then that Meatlug caught a whiff of a scent that shouldn't be here. "Whoa, whoa, Terror's stealthiness is pretty awesome too." Astrid piped in.

"So is my Terror's disarming skill." Raeda added.

"Astrid, Raeda, please. There're no brains involved in teaching a Terror to hide or trip people up." Fishlegs stated.

"Hey, our trainees ram their heads together at high takes brains." Ruffnut said.

"Yeah. Really hard, rock-like brains." Tuffnut added, knocking on his own helmet

The six teens continued to argue over who was the best in the competition, while Hicca and Hiccup were trying to get them to stop. Everyone, even the dragons, were so distract by the debate that they didn't notice Meatlug walking out of the Academy, following the scent she picked up.

Mildew then noticed that the Gronckle was heading their way. "Shh, we can't let that dragon see us." The three of them went off to hide from the Gronckle.

Meatlug continued on the trail of scent, flying a few steps to get faster. The trail ended at a pile of rock. But rather than feeling delight at the sight like she usually does, she started giving a menacing growl. She blasted at the rocks, which was then revealed to be a cover for Alvin, Savage and Mildew! Meatlug then started growling at them, clearly remembering them.

"Uh, this would be a good time to retreat into the tunnel." Mildew advised to Alvin, while Savage already started sneaking away.

But the Outcast chief wasn't having it "Alvin the Treacherous doesn't retreat!"

"Well, then, Alvin the Treacherous is gonna have to explain to Stoick the Vast what he's doing on Berk." Mildew warned, before joining Savage.

Alvin gave one last glare to Meatlug before joining the other two.

Meatlug then gave out a roar before going after them.

Her loud roar stopped the argument in the Academy. "Meatlug?" Fishlegs said, eyes widening as he recognized his dragons roar."Meatlug!" He ran towards the exit to the source of the roar, followed by the others.

Meatlug continued to chase after the three Outcasts, snarling at them. She fired lava blasts at them, hoping it would slow them down.

That's when Alvin the Treacherous decided that he has had enough. "This is crazy." He turned around and punched Meatlug in the snout, disorienting the Gronckle and causing her to slump down. "Muzzle her." Alvin ordered, holding Meatlugs' head in place."We'll use the dragon as a hostage."

Savage grunted as he started pushing Meatlug to the tunnel. "She's a tough one."

Fishlegs ran up in time to see Savage pushing his dragon right into a tunnel! The three men have jumped into the tunnel, just before Midnight and Toothless fired their plasma blasts. Unfortunately, the tunnel was surrounded by piles of rocks and the blasts caused them to move and cover the tunnels' opening, preventing Fishlegs and anyone else from going after them. "Hiccup, Hicca, they took my Meatlug!" Fishlegs cried out, looking at the blocked tunnel.

"We won't let them get away Fishlegs." Hicca promised. She then pulled Fishlegs back before turning to the other dragons. "Fire!" Immediately the dragons started firing at the rocks, hoping to blast the rocks away.

But Fishlegs noticed that it wasn't helping. "We're only making it worse!"

"He's right." Hiccup agreed."Hold your fire!"

The dragons stopped blasting the rocks.

"Oh, what are we gonna do, guys?Those tunnels go all over the island. He could be going anywhere." Fishlegs said worriedly.

"They don't really go 'all over' the island." Tuffnut corrected. "Like, six yak farms."

"A couple of sheep pens." Ruffnut stated.

"Mildew's cabbage field." Tuffnut added, before he and his sister remembered the last tunnel they visited.

"Gobber's outhouse." They both said, before shuddering at the memory."Blah."

The others gave them questioning looks. "What? We spent a lot of time in those tunnels." Tuffnut explained. "It's a tunnel of fun."

"Okay, we'll have to split up, cover all those places." Hiccup instructed.

"As soon as you find them, have your dragon give out a roar in the tunnel. Hopefully the sound will travel throughout the tunnels." Hicca said.

"Great. Dibs on the beach!" Tuffnut called, before everyone split up

Hiccup gave out an annoyed huffed before calmly turning to Tuffnut, having a feeling where Alvin and his crew might have gone. "Uh, what beach?"

"The tunnel that goes to the secluded beach, on the far side of the island.I can't believe you haven't been there." Tuffnut said in disbelief. "It's white sand, so soft on your little toes."

"Well, on the plus side Hiccup, at least we don't have to look through every tunnel now." Hicca pointed out.

The three Outcasts made it back to their ship, where Alvin ordered his crew to chain Meatlug. "Secure the dragon. We're shoving off."

The dragon riders and dragons, along with the Terrible Terrors, flew as fast as they could to catch up to the Outcasts.

"Oh, if anything happens to my Meatlug, I'll never forgive myself!" Fishlegs said worriedly, still beating himself up for neglecting his dragon.

"It's not your fault, Fishlegs." Hiccup reassured.

"Sure, it is." Tuffnut argued.

"Tuffnut." Hiccup reprimanded.

"What? It's not my fault." Tuffnut defended. He then turned to his sister. "Is it your fault?"

"Nope. Not my fault." Ruffnut answered.

"Yeah, definitely Fishlegs' fault." The male Thorston reiterated. "Sorry."

"Guys, not helping." Hiccup said.

"And it's definitely not Fishlegs fault, none of us knew Alvin would be here." Hicca pointed out.

"No, no, they're right, guys." Fishlegs admitted to Hicca and Hiccup. "I ignored the most important thing in my life because I got so caught up in beating Snotlout."

"See? Bad things happen when you try to beat the Snot-man." Snotlout boasted, earning unimpressed stares from the others.

"Seriously Snotlout?" Raeda deadpanned.

"What? Sometimes the truth is hard to swallow." Snotlout stated.

Fishlegs ignored the Jorgenson boy. "You two tried to tell me, Hiccup and Hicca, but I didn't listen."

"Fishlegs, we will get her back, we promise." Hiccup reassured.

"Yeah, Alvin's not going to make back to Outcast Island with Meatlug." Hicca promised.

"Hey, if you three girls are done doing each other's hair, there's an Outcast ship we might wanna attack." Tuffnut stated, pointing to the ship below them.

"Gladly." Raeda said, setting her sights on the ship.

"Let's go!" Hicca commanded, as she guided Midnight towards the ship. The others followed her. As soon as they were close, the dragons started blasting at the ship at every place they could see.

Although they succeeded in setting fires onto the ship, it was quickly extinguished when Alvin dropped buckets of water on them. "Give them plenty of lead." Alvin ordered, shoving the bucket to one of the soldiers. "Maybe we can take out more dragons than I thought."

Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch flew up blasting the ship again, to the blonde twins amusement. "Ha, like shooting yaks in a barrel." Tuffnut said.

Ruffnuts' eyes lit up at the memory. "That was fun."

Stormfly then shot a line of spikes at Alvin. He managed to dodge them and was brought closer towards Meatlug. Getting an idea, he pulled out his sword and pointed it at the poor dragon. "Back off! Or I'll run the Gronckle through."

"Hicca, Hiccup, wait! Don't fire!" Fishlegs pleaded, as he watched the scene below.

Hiccup assessed the situation quickly and made up his mind. He made eye contact with his sister and they both nodded at each other, as if they were mentally communicating with each other. "Riders, hold your fire! Fall back!" Hiccup commanded.

Reluctantly everyone followed and flew away from the ship, hoping that the Haddock twins will come up with a plan and fast.

Fishlegs looked back and saw Meatlug sadly watching them leave her. "No! We can't just leave her there!" He exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Fishlegs. We're not going to." Hiccup reassured.

"Like I said, Alvin is not going to make it back to Outcast Island with Meatlug." Hicca said.

Alvin, Savage, Mildew and the other Outcast soldiers looked at the sky, searching for any signs of a dragon coming at them. But it all seemed quiet.

"I don't see anything. Maybe they aren't coming." Savage suggested.

"Oh, they'll come." Mildew said, knowing that the teens don't give up that easily.

Alvin knew that as well. "He's right. Their sentiment is their weakness." He gave out a laugh, turning to Meatlug. "Isn't it, Gronckle?"

Poor Meatlug looked to the ground, feeling defeated. She then looked up and got a shock when she saw Sneaky sitting quietly on Alvins' head!

Alvin didn't notice the tiny dragon on his helmet, but Mildew and Savage certainly did. Mildew was about to warn Alvin when Savage elbowed him to keep him quiet.

"Alvin, don't move." Savage whispered drawing out his sword. Alvin turned around, wondering what his right-hand man was up to, when he suddenly got a hard whack to the head sending him to the ground.

Luckily Sneaky managed to escape in time. Savage looked around for the Terrible Terror and found that it suddenly disappeared.

Alvin then got up glaring at Savage for daring to hit him.

Savage's eyes widened as he realized the danger he put himself in. "Now let me explain, was a-a little dragon on your..."

But his chief clearly wasn't going to listen as he drew out his own sword. But before he could strike, his sword was suddenly taken out of his hands! "Hey!" He then noticed a Terrible Terror, Scarlett, cutting through the main sail of the ship, preventing it from moving any further.

Iggy brought the sword back to Fishlegs, who was holding up a drawing of a sword. "Yes!"

"I wish I was as smart as that dragon." Tuffnut lamented.

"I wish you were as smart as that dragon too." Ruffnut agreed.

"Now it's up to Sharpshot." Hiccup said. He gave a hand signal to his Terrible Terror and immediately the tiny dragon flew towards the ship, towards Meatlug. He fired at her restraints, helping her break free from them. The Gronckle took the chance to fly up, but was held back when Sharpshot missed the restraint on her back right claw.

The Outcast soldier saw the bigger dragon trying to escape and went to stop her when they were suddenly tripped up by Tumbler.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Mildew said, making a move to stop Meatlug. He was then stopped by Butt and Head when they rammed into his head on opposite sides. Ruffnut and Tuffnut laughed at that.

This gave Meatlug the perfect opportunity to escape. It looked like the Gronckle was going to make it back safely, when Alvin suddenly lassoed her tail with rope! "Not so fast." He said as he and Savage pulled the poor dragon back to the ship.

"Oh, she's not gonna make it!" Fishlegs said panicking.

"Oh, yes, she is!" Snotlout said. He yanked Pain, who was now biting him at the back of his neck, off causing Hiccup and Fishlegs to wince. He then threw the purple Terror, who still had its mouth open, right at the rope, causing the rope to break under the Terrors' teeth. This caused Savage and Alvin to fall back and allowed Meatlug to finally fly away from the ship. "Bam! Who's the best dragon trainer now?" Snotlout hollered. His triumph was cut short when Pain flew right back at him, biting him again. "Pain."

Meatlug flew towards her human, who immediately jumped on her saddle. "Oh, I missed you too." Fishlegs said, rubbing the Gronckle.

"Just one more loose-end to tie up." Hiccup said, turning to his sister. They exchanged nods once again and signaled Sharpshot and Scarlett to stay back. Midnight and Toothless then flew on opposite sides of the ship waiting for the right opportunity to strike."Wait for it, wait for it." Hiccup and Hicca muttered.

As soon as they were close enough, they gave the command. "Now, Toothless/Midnight! Barrel-roll multiple blast!" The Night Furies did so and blasted the ship, setting it on fire and causing the Outcasts to jump overboard.

"Oh, baby, we got you back. Oh, Meatlug." Fishlegs cooed, hugging Meatlug.

"We all did. Together." Hiccup stated.

"See guys everyone has a part to play." Hicca said.

"Guess that competition was worth something." Tuffnut said.

"Oh, for the last time, it wasn't a competition!" Hiccup repeated suddenly annoyed.

"Just let it go Hiccup." Hicca said.

Alvin and Savage held onto the floating planks while Mildew ended up on top of it. The old man came back to consciousness in time to see Fungus floating on a barrel. ( **A/N: Am I the only one who's wondering why Mildew would bring his sheep along?** ) "Ah! Fungus... wha... what happened?"

"Well, I'll give you a chowder turned back into fish heads." Alvin said, glaring at the old man.

"Shame. I do love chowder." Savage said.

"Well, let's look at the positive." Mildew tried once again, only to get knocked out cold by the Outcast chief.

"Let's not." Alvin grumbled. The three men and sheep continued to float about, unaware that there was a shark nearby…

Back on Berk, Fishlegs immediately apologized to Meatlug a dozen times for neglecting her and promised never to do it again. They spent the rest of the day playing toss the sheep to make up for lost time.

"Great toss, girl." Fishlegs praised, after catching the sheep.

Hicca, Midnight, Hiccup and Toothless flew by. "Hey, Fishlegs, we're gonna do some more training with the Terrors." Hiccup said.

"And Snotlout's getting another bet going with the others. This time, the loser cleans the winner's stall for _two_ months." Hicca informed the blonde boy

"No can do, Hiccup and Hicca. Meatlug and I have a lot of catching up to do." Fishlegs said firmly.

The auburn twins nodded in understanding and flew off to join the others, leaving Fishlegs and Meatlug to chase after the sheep that now decides to run away.


	8. Appetite for Destruction

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 8: Appetite for Destruction**

At another island away from Berk, two wild Deadly Nadders were busy grooming themselves. All seemed peaceful for now, until one of the Nadders got hit and splattered with a bag filled with yellow paint. This caused the two Nadders to fly away in shock and confusion.

 _'Hey, what's going on?'_ The Nadder that got hit asked.

 _'I don't know, but I don't like the color yellow. I'm getting out of here!'_ The other Nadder said.

 _'I'm with you!'_

Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly watched as the two wild Nadders flew away. "Okay, these Nadders get tagged yellow. That's how we know they belong in Sorrow Island." Hiccup explained.

Fishlegs came up with the idea to tag the wild dragons with paint according to what island they live on so that they can keep track of which dragon belongs where and they migration path. So Hiccup, Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew out to tag some of the dragons on different islands.

Astrid spotted another Deadly Nadder and threw her bag at it. "Like this?" She got her target. She then continued to chase a few more Deadly Nadders, tagging. "You're free to join in! Anytime." She said to Hiccup when she noticed that he was just watching her.

"Okay. How about now?" With that he took out his shield, and turned it into a makeshift crossbow. He then loaded up the bag of paint and shot it at a Nadder passing by. He got his mark.

"Alright, I have to admit. That shield is pretty cool." Astrid praised.

"Why, thank you. I quite like it too." Hiccup said admiring his shield. He then put it back. "I'm gonna check on the Thorston twins. They're supposed to be marking the Crescent Island dragons."

"I'm sure that's going really well." Astrid said sarcastically. Knowing the Thorston twins, they were definitely going to tag everything except for the dragons.

Her prediction wasn't completely far off.

On Crescent Island, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were searching for dragons to tag, both holding bags of purple paint. Ruffnut then spotted a Gronckle and snuck up to it. Tuffnut spotted the same Gronckle and was doing the same thing his twin was doing.

Tuffnut threw his bag first, but the Gronckle flew away, causing the bag to hit Ruffnut and get her face covered in purple.

Tuffnut was amused by this "Ha, ha, cool! I've always wondered what you'll look like purple."

"You know, you could at least say you're sorry." Ruffnut said, wiping the paint of her face.

"You're right, I could. Okay, I'm sorry." Tuffnut said, before adding. "That your head got in the way."

"Heard that." Ruffnut said. She then threw her bag of paint onto Tuffnut. This started a paint war between the Thorston twins.

Hiccup and Toothless arrived during the paint war and were not impressed.

"Guys!" Hiccup yelled getting their attention. The blonde twins then threw paint at him, but the Haddock boy managed to dodge in time. "You're supposed to be tagging the dragons. Not each other."

"You know, if you think it through, Hiccup, this is pretty much your fault." Tuffnut pointed out

"How did you figure that?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

"Uh, hello? You armed us with paint. Where did you think that was gonna go?" Ruffnut said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She then turned to her brother. "And we're the stupid ones."

"How many of these do we have to do, anyway?" Tuffnut asked Hiccup.

"As many as we can. The more dragons we tag on each island, the better we can keep track on where they belong and where they may migrate to." Hiccup explained.

"Wow! That was... uh..." Ruffnut trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Fascinating?" Hiccup offered.

"What's the opposite of fascinating?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup just gave an exasperated sigh.

Astrid and Stormfly then flew in. "Hiccup? Isn't it supposed to be one dragon color per island?"

"Yeah, why?" Hiccup asked, turning to Astrid.

"I see two colors down there." She said, pointing to a few dragons with green paint on them. "Have we been using the wrong one?"

"I don't think so." Hiccup said. He then turned to the blonde twins.

"Don't look at us. If we had green paint, you know where it would be." Tuffnut said.

"Well I better ask Fishlegs. This was his idea. And Hicca to be sure." Hiccup said, walking to his saddle

"You're gonna fly all the way back to Berk?" Astrid asked.

"No, I don't have to." Hiccup said, taking out a charcoal and a piece of paper.

"What's he talking about?" Ruffnut asked her brother.

"He must have some of that magic paper we've been talking about." Tuffnut replied.

"He always gets the good stuff." Ruffnut grumbled.

"It's not magic paper. Fishlegs, Hicca and I have been working on something new. We call it 'airmail'." Hiccup explained as he wrote out the note and tied it onto Sharpshots' leg.

"Stupid name." Tuffnut commented.

"Right?" Ruffnut agreed.

"Do you really think that Terrible Terror's gonna fly all the way to Berk?" Astrid asked skeptically.

"Yep, and right to the academy. Terrors are especially territorial, so it's a natural instinct to return where they were released." Hiccup explained. The Terror then flew away to its destination.

"And how will we know if he made it?" Astrid asked.

"When Fishlegs, Raeda, Hicca and Snotlout meet us at Dragon Island." Hiccup answered.

"Please. If that happens, I'll kiss Snotlout on the lips." Astrid said, not believing the airmail would work.

Poor Astrid was going to regret saying that, because the Terrible Terror did make it back to Berk and brought the message straight to the Academy. Fishlegs, Hicca, Raeda and Snotlout all got on their dragons and made it to Dragon Island before Hiccup and Astrid could.

Snotlout was lying on the ground snoring while Hicca, Raeda and Fishlegs were waiting for the others to arrive.

Hiccup and Astrid have arrived, and Astrid was horrified to see that the airmail actually did work.

"Well, look who it is. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Raeda and Hicca, all four right here on Dragon Island." Hiccup said mostly to Astrid, waking Snotlout up in the process.

"Yeah, bro. We got your message." Hicca said, holding out the paper.

"Glad to see the airmail worked. This is really going to come in handy." Raeda said.

"Astrid was just talking about you." Hiccup said to his cousin, who was slowly regaining consciousness.

"Of course she was." Snotlout said stretching.

Astrid just glared at Hiccup, who puckered his lips at her. "Say it and those will be the last words you'll ever speak." She warned.

"So, uh, what's the emergency?" Fishlegs asked.

"We've been seeing dragons painted green on Crescent Island." Hiccup explained.

"That's your emergency? I was in the middle of something very important." Snotlout complained.

"You were sound asleep." Fishlegs reminded him.

"Beauty rest." Snotlout corrected. "You think 'this' just happens?" He asked, gesturing to his face.

Raeda rolled her eyes at that.

"Fishlegs, Hicca, does it make any sense to either of you that those dragons would be there." Hiccup asked his sister and his friend.

"Not unless they absolutely have to." Hicca answered.

"Yeah, they shouldn't be there." Fishlegs agreed. He took out a map and spread it out on the ground. Each nearby island is marked with a different color. "Crescent Island is clearly marked purple."

"That's what I thought." Hiccup said.

"So what were the green dragons doing there?" Astrid asked.

"First of all, it's not green, it's pistachio. They belong to Tall Tree Island, that's where I tagged them." Fishlegs said, pointing to an island on the map.

"Yeah, well your pistachio dragons aren't where their supposed to be." Astrid replied.

"Huh, that's weird." Fishlegs said, wondering why the dragons are in a different place.

"I thought dragons only stayed in one place and make that place their own." Raeda said.

"Yeah that's what they do. They shouldn't be moving to other islands at this time." Hicca said.

"We need to figure this out." Hiccup said. "Let's check out Tall Trees Island."

"Sounds awesome, I was wondering what I was going to do for the rest of the day." Snotlout said sarcastically as he got on Hookfang.

The others got on their dragons as well and flew up. However, Snotlout steered Hookfang and took off in a different direction. "See you on Berk, suckers!" Snotlout yelled to the others.

"I'm not the only one who saw that coming, am I?" Raeda asked.

"Nope." Hicca answered.

The five of them then flew off to their destination.

After a bit of flying, they reached their destination. Or, at least, what was supposed to be their destination. The five dragon riders soon discovered that Tall Tree Island was nowhere to be found.

"I don't understand, we should be there by now." Hiccup said to the others.

"Maybe we're off course." Astrid suggested.

"I don't do off course, Astrid." Fishlegs said firmly. He pulled out the map to look at it. "According to this map, it should be right…" He trailed off when he saw that he couldn't find any signs of the island.

"You were saying?" Astrid asked.

"Even if we're off course, we should still be able to see it from here." Hiccup said.

"Unless we went completely off course." Raeda added.

"Well, an island can't just disappear." Astrid said.

"Not unless something happened to the island." Hicca said.

"Earthquake, maybe?" Fishlegs suggested

"Volcano." Hiccup suggested.

"Hurricane." Raeda chimed in.

"Wrath of Thor, wrath of Odin." Fishlegs listed. His suggestions earned him stares from the others. "What? Just throwing possible explanations."

"None of that explains this." Astrid said, pointing ahead of her.

The others looked to where the blonde girl was pointing and saw a wild Monstrous Nightmare ahead of them. This dragon was tagged with an orange color.

"Orange." Astrid said.

"Burnt apricot actually." Fishlegs corrected.

Astrid ignored that. "What island are they from?"

Hiccup looked at the map. "According to this, they're from Sunstone Island." He said.

Fishlegs smiled in recognition. "Ah, Sunstone Island: pristine beaches and a variable smorgasbord of fine mineral deposits for Meatlug."

"Looks like we got our new destination." Hicca said.

"Sunstone Island it is." Hiccup agreed.

The group then set off to their new destination.

They reached their next destination, but the island seemed to be a bit different.

"Huh? I thought it was bigger." Fishlegs said, looking around.

Okay it was a lot different.

The island was so small it only had enough space for Meatlug to land on. Stormfly and Toothless were hanging on the edge of the island while Sparkfire and Midnight were hovering nearby.

"You think?" Astrid asked rhetorically, hanging on to her saddle.

"I have to say the beaches are a disappointment." Hiccup remarked sarcastically.

"Well at least we know why the dragons left this island." Raeda pointed out.

"One island in missing and another island's been sunk." Fishlegs noted.

"I guess an entire island can disappear." Astrid said.

"Yeah, but how? How do you sink an entire island?" Hicca wondered.

"And if the islands are gone, where do the dragons go?" Fishlegs asked.

"Good questions. Dragons live in specific places for specific reasons." Hiccup pointed out.

"The food they eat, where they nest…" Fishlegs listed.

"If they lose their home, it could endanger their whole species." Astrid said worriedly.

"We got to put an end to whatever's going on around here." Hicca said firmly.

"First we need to figure out what is going on. Let's head back to Dragon Island." Hiccup said.

"If it's still there." Astrid added before they took off.

What no one noticed was that there a huge shadow behind them above what was left of Sunstone Island.

They made it back to Dragon Island and were surprised to see that it was filled with more dragons, all with different colored paints on them.

"Look at them all." Hiccup said, surveying the island full of dragons.

"Check their colors." Astrid said.

"I see pistachio and burnt apricot." Fishlegs noted.

"Look a new color, red" Astrid pointed out.

"Actually it's vermillion." Fishlegs corrected. His comment earned a look from Astrid. "What? It is. Ask Raeda, she's the one who told me the different tones of color."

"It is important to know the different tones of color in art." Raeda informed the blonde girl.

"Whatever color it's called, it means that's another island down. That's three islands down already and something tells the number will increase soon." Hicca said.

Hiccup brought out the map and highlighted the ones that are gone. He then noticed something. "Look at this. It forms a line, which means there are more islands in danger." He connected the fallen lands and then drew and line over the two that were next in its path.

"It's strange how there's a pattern forming from this." Hicca commented.

"Boar-Head Island and Thor Rock Island." Hiccup noted the next two islands in danger. He turned to Toothless. "Toothless, we're going back out."

"Do you guys actually think you can leave without me and Midnight?" Hicca asked with her eyebrows raised. Midnight warbled in agreement.

"I'm coming as well." Raeda declared.

"Me too." Astrid said. "This could get dangerous."

"What makes you think that?" Hiccup asked as the four of them got on their dragons.

"Oh I don't know. Islands disappearing mysteriously, dragons fleeing in terror, call it a hunch." Astrid answered.

"And who are we kidding? We attract danger wherever we go." Raeda pointed out.

"All very good points." Hicca said.

"Fine." Hiccup agreed, turning to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you stay here in case anymore dragons show up."

"Got it." Fishlegs said nodding. "New dragons, Meatlug and I are on the case."

The four dragon riders and dragons flew off to their new destination.

They reached Boar-Head Island, but just like Tall Tree Island, it disappeared.

"Boar-Head Island should be down there." Hiccup stated, pointing down to the empty sea. "It's gone too."

"That's five islands now. Whatever the cause of this, it's moving fast." Hicca said.

"So now what?" Astrid asked.

"Now we go to our next destination, Thor Rock Island." Raeda said. "Hopefully we can get there before it's gone."

Unfortunately for them, they were too late. By the time they reached the Island, it was sinking, now resembling Breakneck Bog.

"Whoa, look at what's left of Thor Rock." Astrid said looking at the Island below her. "You know maybe Fishlegs wrath of Gods theory isn't so crazy."

"Let's get a closer look, bud." Hiccup said to Toothless.

The group landed on the remains of the Island and surveyed the place. They then found a very familiar hole in the ground

"Those marks look familiar, but different somehow." Hiccup said.

"I think I know why that is, but I really hope I'm wrong." Hicca said worriedly as she moved closer to Midnight

"Different how?" Astrid asked.

"Definitely bigger." Hiccup answered.

"I can only think of one dragon capable of making this." Raeda said.

"Don't say it, please don't say it." Hicca pleaded.

Suddenly a loud and familiar scream was echoed, followed by the ground shaking

"That sounds like-" Astrid started to say.

"My theory is getting confirmed." Hicca finished

Then a large a dragon suddenly emerged out of the ground, revealing to be the Screaming Death! And it looked a lot bigger than before.

"The Screaming Death!" Hiccup yelled. The larger dragon went back underground then emerged back up. It continued the process for a bit. "Someone's been eating their vegetables."

"And everything else in sight." Astrid said.

"A dragon with a large appetite, that's just our luck." Raeda deadpanned.

The Screaming Death came back into the air and gave out a piercing scream, disorienting Toothless, Midnight, Sparkfire and Stormfly.

"Its scream disorientates the dragons." Hiccup reminded the other three as he tried to regain control of Toothless.

"No kidding." Astrid said while doing the same for Stormfly.

The Screaming Death then went back down underground.

"The Screaming Death has been destroying all the islands. It must be tunneling underneath and coursing them to collapse in on themselves." Hiccup inferred

"But why would it do that?" Astrid wondered.

"We're going to find out, aren't we?" Hicca asked, knowingly.

"Yep, let's get a closer look." Hiccup said. He turned to see both Astrid and Raeda staring at him, as if he'd gone mad. "You two wanted dangerous."

"No we predicted danger, we didn't invite it." Raeda corrected.

They tried to follow the Screaming Death, but suddenly, the larger dragon burst through the grounds in front of Raeda and Astrid and behind Hiccup and Hicca!

"Hicca! Hiccup!" Astrid warned.

"Look out!" Raeda yelled.

The twins and the Night Furies turned to face the Screaming Death. Midnight and Toothless growled at the bigger dragon, both their pupils turned into slits at the new threat. "Easy, guys. Maybe it wants to be friends." Hiccup said, more in a hopeful tone than in a sure tone.

"Yeah, I really don't think that's the case, bro." Hicca said as the Screaming Death gave them a glare

"No arguments there, sis." Hiccup agreed. "Let's move!"

The four of them flew away right before the Screaming Death fired at them. The large dragon continued to chase after the twins and the Night Furies, blasting at them every chance it got. Toothless and Midnight tried to lose it by flying into a maze of sea stacks, but that plan failed when the aggressive dragon blasted through every sea stack in its path.

That's when Astrid and Raeda swooped in. The two girls flew their dragon above the Creaming Death, where they could throw paint at it, hoping to hinder it.

"Hope you like pistachio." Astrid yelled at the rogue dragon, before she and Raeda flew to a safe distance.

Instead of stopping it, this act made the Screaming Death to be more annoyed, causing it to send another loud, disorienting scream that affected the dragons.

"Whoa! Steady Stormfly. Just hang in there" Astrid soothed trying to keep the blue Nadder under control.

"It's okay, girl. It's alright." Raeda said to her dragon, as Sparkfire struggled to stay in the sky.

Toothless and Midnight managed to fire plasma blasts at the Screaming Death, making it stop its roar. This allowed Stormfly and Sparkfire to recover from the scream and retaliate with their own fire blasts. Frustrated, the Screaming Death decided to retreat.

"How's that for accuracy?" Astrid asked, watching the Screaming Death fly away.

The auburn twins just exchanged worried looks. The Screaming Death may be defeated for now, but it will definitely bounce back.

They flew back to Dragon Island and saw that there were even more dragons then before, most probably from the two destroyed islands.

Fishlegs ran to them as soon as he saw them land. "Periwinkle blue. There are now Periwinkle blue marked dragons here." He reported.

"I know from Boar Head Island." Hiccup said as they got off their dragons.

"A-and look there's eggshell white." Fishlegs said pointing to the dragons with said paint color.

"From Thor Rock Island." Astrid stated.

"What happened to them?" Fishlegs asked as Hiccup placed a map back on the stone platform.

"The same thing that happened to all the other islands. The Screaming Death." Hiccup answered as he crossed out the two islands with his charcoal pencil.

Fishlegs eyes widened in fear at the new information. "Huh, the Screaming Death is back?"

"I don't think it ever really left." Hiccup stated.

"Yeah, it just got bigger and nastier." Astrid said.

"Definitely bigger." Hicca agreed.

"Uh, how much bigger?" Fishlegs asked nervously, scared to hear the answer.

"Chump, chump there goes your island big." Astrid answered.

"Big enough to eat us all and still be hungry." Raeda added.

Fishlegs gulped nervously. He definitely didn't want to see the new Screaming Death anytime soon! Sadly for him, something tells him he will have to eventually.

Hiccup continued to look at the map, connecting the fallen islands together. "It's just as I thought." He said. "The Screaming Death is following an imaginary line destroying everything in its path. It is following a pattern like Hicca said." He then drew a line through the circled islands towards Dragon Island.

"It's coming this way." Fishlegs said fearfully.

Hicca looked at the map as well and her eyes widened. "Oh no. Don't tell me…"

"I'm afraid so, sis." Hiccup said, knowing what his sister is thinking.

"What? What is it?" Raeda asked.

"It's not the worst part." Hiccup answered grimly. He then drew a line from Dragon Island to Berk.

Astrid gasped as the realization came to her. "It's heading straight to Berk."

"We have to get back to Berk and warn Stoick." Fishlegs urged.

"No! We head it off. We make our stand here." Hiccup said firmly. "There's no other land between here and Berk."

"He's right. We need to stop the Screaming Death before it can endanger anyone on Berk." Hicca agreed.

"Look, I'm all for danger, but did you two see the size of that thing?" Astrid asked rhetorically.

"And five dragon riders and five dragons isn't going to enough for a dragon like that." Raeda pointed out.

"It's not going to be just us." Hiccup said walking up to Toothless and brought Sharpshot. "We're sending for reinforcements."

"Huh, Snotlout and the twins. Oh, I feel so much better." Astrid said sarcastically as Hiccup wrote a note and tied it on to Sharpshots' leg.

"Hey, we're going to need all the help we can get." Hiccup argued.

Sharpshot then flew up into the air and flew towards Berk.

Back on Berk, the Thorston twins decided to continue their paint war.

Tuffnut was quietly walking around one of the catapults, looking for his sister. He found Barf and Belch who were both sleeping.

"Hey, you guys. Where is she?" Tuffnut whispered. Belch raised his head a little to look at his human, only to lower it down and continue to sleep. "I won't tell you told me. I swear it."

"She's right here." Ruffnut's voice came from above. Tuffnut looked up and was able to dodge the paint just in time. He looked back up and saw Ruffnut standing above him laughing with a now empty bucket in her hands. When she got to the ground, Tuffnut grabbed her by her boots, to her surprise. She recovered and quickly tackled him, starting a fight. They continued to fight until they saw Sharpshot staring at them.

"Why is that Terrible Terror staring us down?" Tuffnut wondered, not recognizing Sharpshot.

"Right. I thought it was just me." Ruffnut said.

"It's totally eyeballing us." Tuffnut said, feeling a little creeped out by the tiny dragon.

"What does it want?" Ruffnut asked nervously.

"Whatever it's selling I'm not buying." Tuffnut said.

 _'I message for you from my owner.'_ Sharpshot chirped.

But the blonde twins clearly didn't remember the new air mail, because they quickly ran away from the tiny dragon. They ran down the stairs, hoping to get rid of the Terrible Terror.

"Is it gone?" Ruffnut asked.

"I think so." Tuffnut answered, hopeful.

They both peered over the platform and still saw Sharpshot staring at them. _'I still have your message.'_

"Okay, on three we run." Ruffnut decided. "One." She then grabbed her brother and they continued down the stairs, but Sharpshot came in their path, causing them to stop.

 _'Where are you two going? Don't you want to see the note?'_ Sharpshot asked

"Leave us alone. You demented little monster." Tuffnut exclaimed afraid, before he and Ruffnut ran back the stairs.

 _'Wait! Where are you going? Are we playing tag? Am I it?'_ The tiny dragon wondered, chasing after the blonde twins.

Back on Dragon Island, Hiccup was looking for Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and their dragons through his spyglass and found none of them even close.

"They should be here by now. What's taking them so long?" Hicca wondered.

"I don't know, sis. But if they don't show up, it's just going to be us against the Screaming Death."

Fishlegs, Astrid and Raeda then approached the auburn twins.

"Hiccup, the yellow mark dragons from Sorrow Island just started showing up." Fishlegs reported.

"Which means the Screaming Death is only an island away." Astrid said.

"And it won't take long for it to be done with that island and come here." Raeda said.

Hiccup took one more look through the spy-glass and sighed "Looks like helps not coming." Hiccup said and looked at the map. "Alright, we have to set up a defense here on Dragon Island with what we have."

"Maybe we should fall back and head for home." Astrid suggested.

"We can't. If the Screaming Death destroys, Dragon Island all these dragons will overwhelm Berk." Hiccup said.

"And the Screaming Death won't be far behind." Fishlegs added.

"So not only do we have to deal with an overflow of dragons, we'll also have to deal with a dragon that wants to sink our island." Hicca piped in.

"Exactly." Hiccup said.

"How soon until it gets here?" Astrid asked.

She got her answer when the group heard a familiar loud roar in the distance.

"Not long." Raeda answered.

The auburn twins exchanged a look and nodded. "Toothless, Hicca Midnight and I will try and buyus some time. You guys join me when Snotlout and the Thorston twins get here." He instructed, grabbing his shield and getting on Toothless while Hicca does the same with Midnight.

"I'm going with you." Astrid said with her axe in her hands.

"So am I." Raeda said, getting her bow ready.

"No! We need you two as a safety net in case it gets past us." Hiccup said firmly.

"With a dragon that size, we're definitely going to need some reinforcements." Hicca added.

"So you're leaving me and Raeda by ourselves?" Astrid asked.

"Uh, hello man on dragon here, right behind you." Fishlegs reminded her, pointing to himself.

"I'm sure there was no offence intended." Raeda said.

"You know what I meant, Fishlegs." Astrid said.

"I do." Fishlegs said, crossing his arms. "And I like to go on record saying we don't appreciate it. Do we girl?" Meatlug just gave him a lick in response.

Astrid looked back to Hiccup and Hicca and sighed "Just go." She said.

Toothless and Midnight then took off towards the Screaming Death.

Back on Berk, the Thorston twins continued to avoid Sharpshot, much to the poor dragons' confusion. He couldn't understand why those two were avoiding him.

The blonde twins then came up with a new strategy to avoid the Terrible Terror; act like a statue. Tuffnut had his arms stretched out holding a shield in one hand and a dagger in the other. Ruffnut was on her brother's shoulders with her own arms stretched out similar to her twin.

Sharpshot just watched them in confusion, wondering what they were doing. _'What kind of game is this?'_

One viking passed them and was also confused by what he saw. He wanted to ask what they were doing, but knew better when it involves Ruffnut and Tuffnut. He decides to just walk away, pretending he didn't see anything.

"Statues. Ha, great idea." Tuffnut whispered to his sister.

"It's like we're not even here." Ruffnut whispered back.

Snotlout walks by and stops when he sees them. "What are you two muttonheads doing?" He asked.

"We're not muttonheads." Tuffnut replied.

"Yeah, we're statues." Ruffnut corrected

Tuffnut then thought about it for a moment. "I guess we could be muttonhead statues." Ruffnut immediately agreed to that and then they started posing with the mouths open and blank expressions.

Snotlout face-palmed himself and said. "No! I mean why are you—"

"Shh, it's right behind you." Tuffnut interrupted.

"Pretend we're not here." Ruffnut whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Snotlout asked. He turned around and saw Sharpshot with a note tried to his leg. Unlike the twins, he knew what it meant. "Oh, cool Airmail. Huh, didn't think it'd catch on." He mused, retrieving the note, to Sharpshots relief.

"Airmail?" Tuffnut repeated as he and his sister relaxed from their pose.

Ruffnut scoffed. "Pfft, stupid name."

"Pfft, muttonheads." Snotlout retorted.

"No. Statues of muttonheads." Tuffnut corrected.

The twins went back to their pose, while Snotlout read the letter as Sharpshot flew away.

In the air, the Screaming Death was flying closer and closer to Dragon Island. It got sidetracked, however, when Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blasts at it. That succeeded in making the larger dragon angry and it set its sights on the two humans and two Night Furies.

"Well, we clearly got its attention, guys." Hiccup said. "Now let's play a little follow the leader and see if it goes for the shiny shield trick again."

"Let's hope lighting strikes twice in this case." Hicca said.

Hiccup used his shield to reflect the sunlight onto the Screaming Death. As soon as that happened, the wild dragon started shooting fireballs at them. This allowed them to lure the Screaming Death away from Dragon Island and into another maze of sea stacks. The Screaming Death continued to chase after them, smashing through the sea stacks in its path.

"Ah, that was easy." Hiccup said, smiling at the success of their mission. But then the Screaming Death looked back at Dragon Island and remembered what it came for. It started flying back at that direction.

"You just had to say that, Hiccup." Hicca sighed.

The four of them then flew towards the Screaming Death, hoping to lure it away again with the sunlight. "Come on. You love shiny things." He said to the Screaming Death, only to be ignored. "Or at least you use to."

"Looks like he got over it." Hicca said

The Screaming Death then slammed its tail at Toothless and Hiccup. Luckily, Hiccup pulled up his shield in time to avoid getting hit by the spikes by the force still cause them to fly back into Hicca and Midnight and into the water! Luckily, the two Night Furies managed to recover in time to pull up before they can hit the water.

"Okay, so it gets bigger and smarter. Not the greatest combination." Hiccup muttered.

"Now what?" Hicca wondered.

On Dragon Island, Astrid was using the spyglass to look for Snotlout and the Thorston twins, but yet again found nothing.

"What are these three doing? Don't tell me they got lost." Raeda said.

"I knew we couldn't rely on that Terrible Terror Airmail." Astrid complained the spy-glass away.

"Actually, we can like all dragons Terrible Terrors are—" Fishlegs began to explain.

"Territorial. I know." Astrid finished, interrupting him..

Fishlegs eyes lit up when he got an idea. "Wait. That's it!" He said. He then turned towards Astrid and grabbed her by her shoulders, much to her and Raedas' surprise. "Astrid you're a genius. I could kiss you on the lips right now."

Astrid then quickly shoved him away. "No one is kissing me on the lips ever!" She said firmly, being reminded of the non-bet (she never officially agreed to it) she made with Hiccup.

"And why exactly is she a genius?" Raeda asked.

Before Fishlegs could answer, the three of them saw Toothless and Midnight firing plasma blasts at the Screaming Death repeatedly. But the Rogue dragon continued flying towards its target; Dragon Island.

"You two go and cover Hiccup and Hicca's backs." Fishlegs instructed. "I've got an idea. But I'll need some time." He then ran off.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Astrid yelled.

"Just trust me." Was all Fishlegs said. He then continued running.

Astrid and Raeda exchanged looks and shrugged. They got on their dragons and flew off to help their friends, hoping that whatever Fishlegs has planned will work.

Back in the air, the Haddock twins and the Night Furies continued to fire plasma blast after plasma blast at the Screaming Death, but it didn't stop the dragon. It only succeeded in making it angrier with each shot.

"We're barely making a dent in that thing." Hiccup said.

"If anything, I think we're making it more determined to get to Dragon Island." Hicca said.

The Screaming Death then roared at them, deciding that now was the time to strike back. It was about to fire at the group when it was suddenly taken by surprise by two fire blasts!

"Turn around you over-grown earthworm!" Astrid yelled as she, Stormfly, Sparkfire and Raeda flew pass the larger dragon, gaining its attention. The Screaming Death then focused on the two girls on the Deadly Nadders. It shot fireball after fireball at its new opponents, but luckily Sparkfire and Stormfly managed to dodge them all, keeping their humans safe.

The Haddock twins then noticed Fishlegs and Meatlug fly by, getting ready to confront the Screaming Death themselves.

"Fishlegs! What are you doing?" Hiccup yelled. "You need backup!"

"More like an army." Hicca commented.

"Oh, I've got an army." Fishlegs said with confidence. As if on cue, a large group of Gronckles from Dragon Island flew towards the Ingerman boy and his Gronckle, all ready to face the terrifying dragon that's been causing chaos on their islands. "Meatlug! Fire!"Meatlug fired her lava blast at the Screaming Death, causing the rest of the Gronckles to follow suit. Getting overwhelmed by the amount of blasts it was receiving, the Screaming Death tried to fly away but was unsuccessful. Some of the Gronckles then followed up with their tail-bludgeon attack.

"Man, it's like Gronckle-fest out here." Astrid said as she and Raeda to where Hiccup and Hicca were. "How did he do that?"

"Gronckles are territorial too. They will defend their home at any cost." Hiccup explained, catching on to the plan. "Great idea, Fishlegs!"

"I know, right. Who's the safety net now?" Fishlegs exclaimed in triumph.

"Hopefully, if this keeps up the Screaming Death will give up and leave." Hicca said.

"Let's just hope it doesn't decide to go straight to Berk instead." Raeda pointed out.

Meatlug then joined her fellow Gronckles and slammed her tail at the Screaming Death. Then the larger dragon decided that enough was enough and dove underground on Dragon Island.

"You see that? It ran away." Fishlegs cheered, happy that his plan worked.

But Hiccup and Hicca were a bit doubtful, especially when they noticed the ground where the Screaming Death dove under started shaking. "Uh, not quite." Hiccup said.

He was proven right when the ground started to shake!

"We need to get it out of there!" Hicca urged.

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Astrid, Raeda, Fishlegs get as many wild dragons together as you can. Hicca and I will try and force it back up to the surface."

The group immediately split up with Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless diving into the hole made by the Screaming Death. They flew through the passageway, searching for the larger dragon until they reached a cavern that was started to fill up with water.

"It's trying to sink the island from within." Hiccup murmured.

"It's like sinking a ship." Hicca noted.

Suddenly, Toothless and Midnight gave out roars, alerting their humans of the Screaming Death's presence just as the fireball came.

"Midnight, dodge!" Hicca yelled.

"Toothless, look out!" Hiccup yelled.

The four of them quickly flew out the way they came in, with the Screaming Death close behind them. Toothless and Midnight both used echolocation as guides. It looked like they were about to make it out of the grounds when they suddenly found the entrance blocked!

Luckily, the two Night Furies used their echolocation and found another way out. It wasn't long till the four of them safely above the ground and under the sun.

They were then joined by Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Hey, we got your message." Tuffnut said to the Haddock twins.

"About time, what took you guys so long?" Hicca asked.

"What he meant was one of us got the message, and it certainly wasn't these two." Snotlout explained, gesturing to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Suddenly the Screaming Death emerged from the ground and flew towards the teens and dragons. "Whoa! Did that thing get bigger?"

"Yeah! And awesomer." Tuffnut cheered, excited at having to face their new opponent.

"Not really for us." Hicca said, looking at the Screaming Death.

The Screaming Death lunged forward to attack them, but the Thorston twins got Barf and Belch to fire at the larger dragon before it could attack. This caused the Screaming Death to retaliate with fireballs, which the group was able to dodge.

That was when Astrid, Raeda and Fishlegs joined the fight with their army of dragons from Dragon Island.

"Alright, dragons let's get territorial." Astrid yelled as she and Stormfly led a herd of Deadly Nadders. They flew right at the Screaming Death. "Stormfly, spine shot!" Stormfly fired several spikes, all successfully hitting the Screaming Death. The herd of Deadly Nadders then fired their own streams of fire and spikes at it.

Then Raeda and Sparkfire flew in with their own herd of Deadly Nadders.

"Come on, guys! This is the dragon responsible for the destruction of your homes. It's time for revenge!" Raeda yelled at the other Nadders. She then got her own dragon to fire at the Screaming Death, with the other Nadders following suit.

Next were Fishlegs and Meatlug leading a herd of Gronckles.

"Meatlug, dive!" Fishlegs ordered. Meatlug dove, leading the other Gronckles to dive in as well and slammed their bludgeon-like tail right at the Screaming Death. The Gronckles then followed up with lava blasts.

"It's working!" Hiccup yelled in triumph. "All the wild dragons are defending their homes."

"The Screaming Death has got to give up now, it's outnumbered!" Hicca exclaimed, hoping her prediction will come true.

To her glee, her prediction did come true! The Screaming Death knew it was fighting a losing battle and had no choice but to retreat back to where it came from.

"I don't think the Screaming Death is going to mess with Dragon Island anymore." Astrid said smiling.

"Not if it wants to meet the full force of the dragons." Raeda agreed.

But the dragon riders celebration was cut short when the saw the ground starting to shake.

"Oh no! We forgot about the holes the Whispering Death made!" Hicca exclaimed.

"The island's sinking!" Hiccup exclaimed.

It was Fishlegs who came up with a solution. "Lava blast!" Fishlegs yelled to Meatlug and the other dragons.

The other teens watched him and Meatlug lead the Gronckles the holes, where the dragons fired lava blasts directly onto it. The blasts succeeded in covering up the holes, preventing the water from the ocean from entering it.

"The lava is stabilizing the island." Hiccup said in awe. He then looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, Meatlug, you two were the hero's today."

"Great job, guys!" Hicca cheered

"Oh, come on you've making us blush." Fishlegs said modestly, giving Meatlug a hug, who licked him in reply.

The teens and dragons headed back to their home getting some rest and food after the tiring battle against the Screaming Death. Later on in the evening the eight teens met back in one of the watch-tower across the Academy.

"Everybody saw how that Screaming Death turned tail and ran as soon as Hookfang and I showed up, right?" Snotlout boasted.

"Huh, and all those wild dragons had nothing to do with it." Astrid said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Correct." Snotlout said with a grin.

"Yeah I bet you and Hookfang could beat the army of wild dragons anytime you want. In fact, why don't we go to Dragon Island right now to prove that?" Raeda challenged.

Snotlout paled at that. "N-not really necessary. It has been a long day after fighting the Screaming Death, Hookfang's probably too tired for another fight. A-and those dragons might also need some time to rest as well." He said causing Raeda to roll her eyes.

"As long as we never have to see the Screaming Death again. It's give Meatlug gas." Fishlegs said, before lowering his voice. "And I don't have to tell you what that's like."

Astrid walked over to where Hiccup and Hicca were standing and looking out at the sea. Both twins had worried looks on their faces.

"Hey, did you two find anything else on the Screaming Death?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, the only information we found of them were buried deep in Borks' note, which was why we didn't find them earlier." Hicca answered before she and her twin turned to face Astrid and the others.

"The good news they only hatch once every hundred years or so." Hiccup stated.

"That's the good news." Astrid asked, having a bad feeling.

"What's the bad news?" Snotlout asked.

"Huh, let me guess. What's it going to be the end of the world?" Tuffnut joked before laughing.

"Close." Hiccup and Hicca said grimly.

Tuffnut abruptly stopped laughing, not liking the serious expression on the auburn twins faces. "Ah, I was kidding." He said.

"Unfortunately we weren't." Hicca said.

"The bad news is it's still out there." Hiccup said looking out to sea. "And someday it'll come back to Berk." This caused the other teens to go in silence, wondering if they would be ready in time for that moment.

Out in the ocean, the Screaming Death was flying, still sore from its' humiliating defeat. The dragon made a vow to get back at those small humans with their dragons. The next time they face off, they won't win…


	9. Chaos

**A/N: Whew! It's been a long time! I finally manage to get through my writers block and finish this chapter. I hope you guys weren't getting too impatient with me. Before we get to the chapter, I just want to respond to a few reviewers:**

 **\- One of the guest (you know who you are): if I do go with your suggestion of having the boys fight over Hicca, it would be just Fishlegs and Tuffnut fighting over her since Hiccup is her twin brother and Snotlout is her cousin**

 **\- Another guest: I already have a plan for "A View to Skrill", but thanks anyways for the suggestion, I do appreciate it! :)**

 **\- Rachel: Thanks for some of the scenes, it helps. Just one question though, with your scene in 'Bing, Bang, Boom' with Hicca, Hiccup and Stoick, is Hicca speaking from experience or something?**

 **\- Guest: Regarding your suggestion of Stoick finding a suitor for Hicca, I feel that Stoick would be more the over-protective father who would scare boys away from his baby girl, but once again appreciate the suggestion.**

 **Also a few people have suggested bringing an OC as Hiccas' love interest. While I have been thinking along the lines, I want to wait till the rest of the RTTE episodes come to try to follow along that storyline, so we'll just have to see ;)**

 **Final note, so far in the polls majority are wanting the baby Night Furies to be in RTTE. But there is still time to vote. The poll is on my bio page and it will stay open until my defenders of Berk series is over (so you have** ** _a lot_** **of time)**

 **Finally enjoy this original chapter! Read and Review!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon.**

 **Chapter 9: Chaos**

Today Hiccup and Hicca decided that the Dragon Riders and dragons deserved a day off. As soon as they announced it, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut made sure not to waste the opportunity. They chose a setting outside the plaza near the forest to perform a daring stunt. They brought three barrels, a cart full of pointed weapons and a catapult (which they somehow managed to sneak out there without anyone noticing) and they started setting up.

"Oh this is going to be awesome!" Tuffnut said excitedly as he and his sister moved the cart of weapons onto the 'X' on the ground.

"Yeah, one of our finest masterpiece yet!" His twin agreed. She then had a thought. "What if something goes wrong?"

"That's why Snotlout's going first." Tuffnut answered as if it was obvious.

"Oh yeah." Ruffnut said as they walked away from the cart.

"What are you guys talking about?" Snotlout called from where he and Hookfang were with the catapult, which was positioned a good distance from the cart.

"Uh, we're just saying how you're going to be a legend when you pull off this stunt." Tuffnut answered as Ruffnut snickered.

"Well, of course. I mean, not just anyone would be able to do something like this." Snotlout boasted. He then got in one of the barrels and signalled Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare lifted the barrel with his rider in it and placed it in the catapult. He didn't understand why they would want to do this, but they seemed determined. Besides, it would be entertaining if Snotlout caught fire.

The blonde twins then signalled Barf and Belch to start a fire in the gap in between the catapult and the cart. They then went to the catapult and each twin put one hand on the lever.

"Alright, on three." Ruffnut said.

"One." Tuffnut started.

"Two." Ruffnut continued.

"Hey!" Two voices called out from the sky interrupting them.

"Wait, that's not three." Tuffnut said, the blonde twins then looked up to see Hicca, Midnight, Raeda and Sparkfire landing near them.

"Did you guys pull the lever?" Snotlout called out, still inside the barrel.

"We leave you guys alone for a few hours and we get this." Hicca said as she and Raeda got off their dragons.

"I'm not sure why you two are surprised by this." Tuffnut said. He then turned to his sister. "It's like they don't know us." Ruffnut nodded her head in agreement at that.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Snotlout called out.

He was still ignored. "How did you guys even managed to bring one of the catapults out here without anyone noticing?" Raeda asked in disbelief.

"Pretty easily actually." Ruffnut answered.

"Look guys, Hiccup and I told you guys you were free to do whatever you want, we didn't mean this. Come on, put out the fire, get Snotlout out of the barrel and put everything back. You can do something that doesn't involve death-defying stunts." Hicca said.

"Hey, just because you two can't have any fun on your own doesn't mean you should stop other people from having fun." Tuffnut stated.

"Hello?!" Snotlout called out.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Raeda demanded, crossing her arms.

"It means you two are boring." Ruffnut said. "The two of you don't do anything exciting or daring like we do."

"Uh, have you guys been paying attention to what has been happening these past few weeks? We snuck out at night behind the chiefs' back, we fought against the Screaming Death twice and we even went through a few _Astrids'_ training exercise!" Raeda pointed out.

"For your information we have been paying attention, most of the time." Tuffnut piped in. "We're paying attention to the fact that we did that as a group, but neither of you ever came up with any of the ideas by yourselves."

"What about those inventions Hiccup and I use to build before we made peace with the dragons? Were they not crazy and dangerous enough for either of you?" Hicca asked.

"Oh they were definitely crazy and dangerous, they were beautiful." Ruffnut said, her eyes lighting up as she remembered those awesome gadgets. "But answer me this, how many of those inventions did you came up with by themselves."

"Can you guys hear me?!" Snotlout shouted still in the barrel.

Hicca hesitated when coming up with an answer. "W-ell, I did come up with some of the names for those inventions." She said lamely.

"Oh, how exciting." Tuffnut snorted.

"Okay, at least we know the fine line between thrilling and just plain stupid. Just keep yourselves out of harms' way for once." Raeda said, getting back on Sparkfire.

"Tomorrow, we're definitely going to resume training." Hicca said as she got on Midnight.

As soon as they left, Snotlout got out of the barrel and glared at the Thorston twins. "Are you two muttonheads deaf or something?! Pull the lever already!"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other and shrugged. Without any warning, they both pulled the lever, sending Snotlout, who still had his head out of the barrel, flying over the fire and the cart of weapons and landing on the ground, smashing the barrel into pieces.

"It worked!" The blonde twins cheered, banging their heads together.

Hicca and Raeda decided to walk around the plaza with their dragons playing together.

"Can you believe those two saying that we are boring?" Raeda said to Hicca, still thinking about what Ruffnut and Tuffnut said to them.

"Yeah, I mean, so what if we don't do stunts involving fire and dangerous weapons, at least we have a sense of self preservation." Hicca replied.

"And so what if Hiccup is the one who comes up with all the crazy plans? We still follow him with those plans." Raeda pointed out. "And we do come with fun things to do."

"Yeah, like sketching together and discussing about flowers and their medicinal properties if they have some." Hicca agreed, but then her smile dropped into a frown. "Which admittedly, if you're not as passionate about art and medicine like we are, then it would be boring."

Raeda thought about it and sighed. "Those two are right. We are boring."

"For once the Thorston twins are actually right about something." Hicca said glumly.

Midnight and Sparkfire stopped playing and noticed their humans' sad expressions. The two dragons bounded to their humans and nudged them, pointing their heads to the sky.

The two girls looked up at the sky and got the same idea. "Who said the Thorston twins have to be right about this? We can prove them wrong easily!" Raeda said, with renewed confidence.

"Yeah we can go find some daring adventures out on our own and I say we do that right now!" Hicca said with determination.

"And I agree with you, because we can be spontaneous whenever we want to be! And we don't need Hiccup all the time to guide us!" Raeda agreed.

"Let's go!" Both girls said before saddling up on their dragons.

Before they can take off, however, Hicca had a thought. "Wait, maybe we should pack some supplies first. And leave a note for my dad and your parents."

Raeda thought about it before nodding her head. "Good idea."

They both got off their dragons and ran to their respective homes, much to their dragons' dismay on the delay.

While the girls were out looking for their own adventure, the other teens and dragons got together and inspected the damage caused by Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut and their activities.

"We leave you guys alone for a few hours and we get this." Hiccup said in exasperation as he looked at the bruises on the Jorgenson boy and the Thorston twins.

"Whoa, I feel like I've heard that before." Tuffnut said in surprise.

"Seriously, how did you guys manage to not only get yourselves injured but also destroy five barrels, three different house doors, melt two crates filled with weapons, scorch the majority of the plaza and set all of Mulchs' sheeps on fire at once?" Astrid asked in annoyance.

"Pretty easily, actually." Ruffnut answered.

"Seriously, it's like déjà vu." Tuffnut commented.

"Hey, where's Hicca? I thought she would be the first to be checking their wounds." Fishlegs pointed out, looking around for said girl. "In fact, I haven't seen Raeda around either."

"They probably went to the forest again. I'll send an airmail for them, right now we need to work on how to cover up the damages before my dad finds out." Hiccup said.

"It may be a bit too late for that." Astrid said, pointing to the direction in front of her.

The other five teens looked and saw Stoick the Vast walking towards them with a serious expression on his face.

"Oh, great. He always has perfect timings." Hiccup said with a sigh. He turned to his cousin and the blonde twins. "Fair warning, I'm not taking the fall for this." He then turned back to his dad, who has reached the group. "Dad, hey! Look, I know it looks really bad, but in my defence, I remembered mentioning before that neither Hicca nor I could monitor these three all the time. Honestly I didn't think they could do this much damage in short time. Which, I admit, I actually should've expected that, but-"

"It's not about that." Stoick interrupted.

"Oh." Hiccup said feeling relieved. "Then what is it about?"

Stoick took out a note he was holding in his hand. "Trader Johann sent a letter. He said he is north from Berk and he needs urgent help." He informed the others.

When Trader Johann came in his recent visit to Berk, he found out about airmail. As soon as he knew what it was, he asked Hiccup and Hicca to help him train a Terrible Terror for the use. The twins were able to find a good Terrible Terror and trained it well during Johanns' short visit. Right now the Terror was nestled on the chief of Berks' shoulders.

Hiccup nodded. "Okay, let's go get Hicca and Raeda and fly out to Trader Johann."

"Actually it will just be the six of you. It seems that Hicca and Raeda took off somewhere and won't be back till night." Stoick informed the teens, remembering the note that was left for him and Hiccup back home.

"What? When did they leave? Hicca usually lets me know when she's going somewhere without me." Hiccup wondered. He doesn't mean to sound clingy, but that's how they are. One of them always knows what the other is up to.

"Never mind, just send them a note about the mission and they'll probably join us there." Astrid advised.

Hiccup nodded and turned to the others. "Alright, riders mount up!" The others immediately got on their dragons and flew off to search for Trader Johann.

After a while of searching for Johann and no signs of Hicca, Raeda, Midnight and Sparkfire, the six dragon riders and dragons managed to find Trader Johanns ship which crashed onto shore and landed in the ship immediately. They were surprised to find Johann nowhere in sight. The teens looked around the ship while the dragons hovered in the air.

"I don't get it, Hicca and Raeda should have joined us by now." Hiccup said out loud, concerned and wondering where his sister and best friend were.

Fishlegs opened a closet and his eyes widened in complete shock. "Uh, Hiccup? I think we have bigger problems." He said nervously.

The other five teens went to where Fishlegs was standing and looked in the closet. They were stunned to find Trader Johann himself, bound and gagged and close to unconsciousness.

"Huh, how did Johann write a letter if he was tied up in the closet?" Snotlout wondered dumbly.

Tuffnut scoffed at Snotlout."You're so dumb."

"Yeah, it's obvious someone wrote it for him." Ruffnut agreed.

"Wait, but then who sent the letter?" Astrid asked, as she, Hiccup and Fishlegs started get a bad feeling.

She unfortunately got her answer when the door leading to the lower deck was suddenly flung opened and the next second the teens were suddenly pinned to the ground. The dragons swooped down and tried to help their riders but with their shock and their focus on their riders, they too were taken down by bolas and arrows.

The five teens and dragons tried their best to break free from their bonds, but it was no use. They were taken out of Johanns ship and onto another bigger one and it didn't take long for any of them to recognize the main figure.

"Alvin." Hiccup said, glaring at the Outcast leader.

"I see we meet again." Alvin chuckled. "It looks like Trader Johann can provide more than just valuable objects." The teens just glared at him as the older looked over them. He then turned to the Outcasts who trapped them on the other ship. "I seem to remember, there were _eight_ kids and dragons, correct?"

"Correct." The Outcasts answered, without hesitating.

"So why am I looking at only _six_ kids and dragons?"

The Outcasts looked at each other before answering. "Uh…because two kids and dragons aren't here?" One of the Outcast soldier answered, though it sounded more like a question than an answer.

 _"_ _So where are the other four?!"_ Alvin demanded.

"W-we don't know sir. T-they were the only ones there when we saw them." Another Outcast dared to answer.

The chief gave his soldiers one last glare before turning to the rest of the crew. "Set a course back to Outcast Island! And if you see a Night Fury and a Deadly Nadder coming towards the ship, _shoot them down!_ "

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged worried looks as the ship started sailing. What were they going to do now?

Meanwhile oblivious to the danger, Hicca and Raeda were flying back to Berk on their dragons. "Okay so we may not have found some exciting adventure." Hicca said.

"But at least we got a cool new move out of the trip." Raeda finished. "Want to practice it one more time?"

"Sure." Hicca said.

The two girls guided their dragons so that both dragons could fly close and parallel to each other with their riders close enough. The Night Fury and the Deadly Nadder then started flying in a spiral, moving in perfect sync with each other. Then the two dragons split up and went back to their regular flying. But there was a difference. Sparkfire and Midnight were carrying different girls!

"Whoo-hoo! Nailed to perfection!" Raeda cheered from the saddle on Midnight.

"Yep and it only took twenty tries to get it right. It could have been worse." Hicca said, from Sparkfire.

The girls then repeated the move to get back on their own dragons. That's when Raeda saw a familiar dragon heading their way. "Hey, isn't that Sharpshot?" She asked, pointing ahead of her.

Hicca looked and saw that it was indeed her brothers' Terrible Terror. "Yeah, that is." Hicca answered, extending her arm out so that Sharpshot could land. The Haddock girl noticed the note attached to the Terrors' leg. Taking the note, Hicca petted the tiny dragon before reading the note, while Sharpshot moved to her shoulders.

Raeda watched as one of her best human friends read the note, the concern growing on her face. "What is it?"

"We need to find Trader Johanns ship, there's trouble." Hicca simply answered

As they flew towards their destination with Sharpshot in tow, Hicca explained to her best human friend what the note said. The Haddock girl was thankful that she decided to bring her medical kit with her in case of emergency. Hopefully she wouldn't need to use it.

As they get close to the area, they surprise to see no familiar dragons in the air.

"Hey, don't you think we should be seeing some sign of the others around here?" Raeda questioned.

"Yeah we should, unless we took too long to come that the others already found Trader Johann and got him back to Berk." Hicca inferred.

"Then we should probably head back as well." Raeda suggested.

The two girls were about to go back, when suddenly Midnight, Sharpshot and Sparkfires' sharp ears picked up on a sound below them. Without warning their humans, the Deadly Nadder and Night Fury flew towards the nearby island right to the wrecked ship followed by the Terrible Terror.

Raeda and Hicca were about to say something to their dragons until they caught sight of the ship. When they landed, they were shocked to find Trader Johann on the deck of the ship, tied up and unconscious.

"Oh my gosh!"

"Trader Johan!"

Quickly the two girls picked up the trader and untied him. They then placed him so that he could rest on the wall of his ship.

Hicca turned to Raeda. "Get some water!"

Raeda nodded and wordlessly took out her canteen while Hicca checked Johann for any injuries. Once she found none, she looked around for any signs of her brother and her friends. "I don't get it. The others had a head start over us. They should have been here by now."

"Maybe they got lost or something?" Raeda suggested, handing her the canteen.

"No, I don't think so." Hicca said. She took out a pen and paper out of her bag and quickly scribbled down a note. She then tied the note to Sharpshot and simply said "Berk." It was enough for the Terrible Terror to know where to go and he flew off.

The two girls looked around the ship to see if they could find any kind of clue that could tell them what happened. It seems that the dragons could sense trouble as they started growling unfortunately neither Hicca nor Raeda could understand what danger it was. Suddenly a groaning sound was heard and the two girls and dragons looked to find Trader Johann starting to regain some consciousness.

"Johann!" Hicca and Raeda both exclaimed as they rushed to Johanns' side. The older man blinked a few times before he could adjust to his surroundings. He then started coughing.

"Here drink some of this." Hicca instructed, bringing the canteen to Johanns' lips for him to drink.

"Thank you, Miss Hicca. It's good to see as well, Miss Raeda." Johann said weakly. "It was a good thing you two weren't here with the others earlier."

"Wait, the others were here earlier? Where are they?" Raeda asked.

"And why is it a good thing we weren't with them?" Hicca asked.

"It was a trap." Johann explained. "I was just sailing through the waters as usual, when suddenly I got attacked by an Outcast ship. I tried to avoid them as best as I could, but there was no escaping them. Then I sent a letter for help, but then it was too late. I got captured, tied up and thrown into my own closet. I could hear Alvin telling his men to crash my ship to a nearby shore and make it look ship-wrecked. I did try to get out of it, but I'm I was tied up good. Master Hiccup and the others came earlier for me and they fell right into Alvins' trap."

Raeda and Hicca's eyes widened as they heard the explanation. "We should have known something would happen when we hadn't heard from Alvin in a while." Raeda said as she narrowed her eyes.

"We need to go rescue them." Hicca said as she got up, determination filling her eyes.

They then heard a familiar dragon roar and looked to see Stoick and Thornado flying towards them.

"Dad!" Hicca said as her dad landed.

"Hicca, I got here as soon as I got your letter. Is Trader Johann okay?" Stoick asked, looking at the trader with concern.

"No visible sign of injuries, but I suggest to take him to Gothis' to double-check." Hicca said as she and Raeda got on their dragons.

"What about Hiccup and the others? Any idea where they are?" The Berkian chief asked.

"We do, and we're going to go get them, chief. Take care of Johann." Raeda said, before they flew off.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Raeda asked Hicca.

"To be honest, I can't think of one. Alvin's fought against us enough times to know us well. He knows that we're definitely to rescue the others, that is for sure. He probably has all his guards ready to fire at us as soon as they see us." Hicca admitted.

"And between us, we would probably come up with a plan that Alvin can predict easily." Raeda pointed out. "We need to think outside the box."

"Yeah, but what do we do?" Hicca wondered out loud. Suddenly, it came to her and her eyes twinkled in mischief. "You know what, Rae? I think it's time we have some fun for a change."

Raeda looked confused and bewildered by that statement, until the realisation came to her as well. Her eyes also danced with mischief as she nodded. "I agree with you completely and I think it's time we rescue in style."

Moments later on Outcast Island, true to Raedas' prediction, there were Outcast troops stationed around the island and ready to attack at any sign of a dragon. Alvin the Treacherous himself was among the troops waiting for any sign of a Night Fury and a Deadly Nadder. Hiccup, Astrid and the others were in the cells in the Arena, trying to think of a way out but found none.

"Alvin, there's no sign of the other two dragon riders anywhere." Savage reported.

"Oh, they will be here. Like I said before, their sentiment is their weakness." Alvin said confidently.

Suddenly a black blur whooshed up from below, surprising Alvin, Savage and the other Outcasts soldiers and before anyone could react the blur landed on the ground in front of Alvin and Savage, revealing it to be Hicca, wearing a cloak that matches Midnight scales, and Midnight. It seems that all the Outcasts had their gazes focused high in the sky that no one thought to look around the lower ground.

Alvin was the first to get over his shock and gave a smirk. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Stoicks' other runt. Here to rescue your brother and friends, I'm guessing?" At this, the other soldiers got over their shock and surrounded the girl and dragon, their weapons ready.

"Naturally." Hicca answered calmly.

"And where is that Henderson girl? Let me guess, she and her dragon are going to attack at your cue." Alvin guessed.

"Wow, you got that it one guess? I'm impressed, Alvin. Your intelligence is getting better." Hicca said sarcastically.

That caused Savage to chuckle until he was jabbed in the elbow by his chief. The Outcast chief then turned to some of his soldiers. "Keep a look out for the other girl and her dragon." The soldiers obeyed and this time, kept their eyes on the lower ground as well as the higher ground.

Unbeknownst to any of the Outcasts, Raeda, who was wearing a cloak that matched Sparkfires' scales and Sparkfire were at another part of Outcast Island, the part where the wild dragons are usually found. Outcasts normally don't go to these parts because of the wild dragons. Like Hicca and Midnight, Raeda and Sparkfire managed to sneak into the island without getting caught. Raeda looked around until she found what she was looking for, a group of wild dragons. After counting the dragons, the Henderson girl decides that there are enough dragons.

"Alright, girl, do your thing." Raeda whispered to Sparkfire. The purple Nadder then shot fire right at the wild dragons. It wasn't directly at them to hurt them, but it was close enough to anger them.

Every wild dragon's pupils narrowed into slits as they turned their attention to the dragon who dared to fire at them.

"Alright Sparkfire, step on it!" Raeda urged. The Nadder immediately flew away, with the other dragons following her tail.

Meanwhile Hicca was still busy facing off against Alvin. "Fair warning, Alvin, I came here to rescue my brother and friends and I'm _definitely_ going to be leaving with them. So I suggest you make this easier for all of us and let them go right now."

"Ha! I don't think so." Alvin replied.

Suddenly, a dragon screeched filled the air. Hicca smiled at hearing the signal. "Remember Alvin, I did warn you." With that Midnight flew up. The soldiers were about to fire at them when suddenly, Sparkfire and Raeda flew by getting their attention. The Outcasts turned their aim to the Nadder and fired arrows and boulders at her. But they missed and ended up hitting the wild dragons that were still chasing Raeda and Sparkfire. That made the dragons even madder and caused them to divert their attention to the Outcast soldiers. The soldiers started running around as the rogue dragons started firing at them.

"It's working!" Raeda exclaimed to Hicca as they flew side by side.

"Yes! Now it's time for part two." Hicca instructed, pulling up the hood of her cloak. Raeda copied her actions and they guided their dragons to perform their new trick.

Angered, by the turn of events, Alvin turned to glare at the female Night Fury, who began to split up from the female Deadly Nadder. Grabbing a bola from a nearby soldier, the Outcast chief threw the bola right at Midnight, effectively capturing her. As he ran to the Night Fury, he made a mental note to deal with the Henderson girl and her dragon later.

He glared at the cloak girl as she got off Midnight, her back facing the Outcast chief. "So you thought, you could get away from pulling a stunt like this, eh." Alvin growled. He roughly grabbed the girls' shoulder and turned her around to see her face.

But he got a shock when he saw not the face of Hicca Haddock, but Raeda Henderson!

"Yep." Was all Raeda said before she landed a few punches and kicks at Alvin, sending him stumbling back. She used this moment to quickly take out her dagger and cut through Midnights' binds. Once she managed to free Midnight, both of them got ready for a fight.

Meanwhile, Hicca and Sparkfire sped towards the Arena through the battlefield. They wasted no time as they flew through the hallways, blasting any guards in their path and looking for any signs of their human and dragon friends. Sparkfire then heard some familiar roars in the distance and flew in their direction.

Hicca smiled when she saw the dragons. "Toothless! Stormfly! Meatlug! Hookfang! Barf and Belch! Oh, it is great to see you guys! Don't worry we're going to get you guys out of there!" Sparkfire, immediately fired at all the locks, melting them and freeing the dragons. The freed dragons immediately rushed Hicca, nuzzling her. "Yeah, I'm glad you guys are okay. Now let's go free the others." At the mention of their humans, Toothless and the other dragons flew off (well in Toothless' case, ran as fast as he could) towards them. Hicca and Sparkfire followed and by the time they reached, the other dragons have already melted the locks and freed their humans.

"Hey, guys!" Hicca called, getting their attention.

"Sis!" Hiccup exclaimed, happy to see that his twin was okay.

"Boy, are we glad to see you Hicca." Fishlegs said in relief, still hugging Meatlug. "But why are you riding Sparkfire?"

"And where are Raeda and Midnight?" Astrid asked.

"I'll explain later. Right now, let's get out of here." Hicca said.

"I heard some voices!"

"This way!"

Two guards came running through the hallway to see what the commotion was about. They stopped and froze when they saw the captured dragons out of their cages and now growling at them.

Moments later, the two guards ran out of the Arena screaming at the top of their lungs followed by the seven dragon riders and dragons.

Hicca then commanded Sparkfire to fire in the sky. This gave Raeda the signal she needed to see. With a few final jabs at Alvin and one plasma blast by Midnight, the girl and dragon flew off to join the others.

"Hey guys! About time you got here!" Raeda said cheerfully as she joined them.

"Thanks, both of you, you did great." Hiccup praised his sister and best friend. "Now it's time to take down, Alvin."

"Actually, I don't think that's necessary." Hicca said, to everyone except Raeda, Midnight and Sparkfires' surprise.

"Yeah, I think our new friends have got it covered for us." Raeda said smiling.

That was when Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout suddenly noticed the wild dragons still attacking the Outcasts, shooting fire at everything in sight.

"Whoa..." Snotlout muttered.

"All this chaos..." Tuffnut said.

"And destruction..." Ruffnut said.

"And crazy..." Tuffnut continued.

"And dangerous..." Ruffnut continued.

"Beautiful." The Thorston twins finished as they admired the battlefield in awe.

"What exactly did you guys do?" Hiccup asked. He was definitely not expecting Hicca and Raeda to come up with _this_.

"We'll tell you on the way back. Come on, dad is probably on his way here." Hicca said.

She and Raeda flew off with the others following, still dumbstruck by what they were seeing.

As soon as they were away from the island, Raeda spoke up. "Hey, Hicca? As fun as it was working with Midnight, I'd like my own dragon back please."

"You read my mind, Rae." Hicca replied, smiling. "Ready?"

"Ready."

The two girls then showed off their new trick to others, who looked impressed.

"Wow, nice trick guys." Fishlegs complimented. "Did you two learned that in one day?"

"Yep." Hicca replied.

"The cloaks are a nice touch." Astrid praised.

"Thanks." Raeda said.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm going to go home and spend the rest of the day reading a book." Hicca said.

"Me too." Raeda said.

"Boring!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut said in unison.


	10. Zippleback Down

**A/N: This was one of my favorite chapters to right about. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 10: Zippleback Down**

Today, Gobber is the one who came up with the mission for the dragon riders. He assembled them all with their dragons to the Academy and showed them the various dragon traps. He suddenly stepped on a giant bear trap, causing the trap to close up on him! "Aah, the pain! The horror!" The blacksmith yelled, causing everyone to wince and look away.

Gobber then gave out a chuckle. "Don't soil your skivvies. I was just playing around." He said as he himself out of the trap completely unharmed. "But these dragon traps are made to withstand even the toughest of, well, dragons. They're nothing to play around with."

"Uh, I beg to differ. That one with all the teeth's got Tuffnut written all over it." Tuffnut piped in.

"Exactly what I was thinking." Ruffnut said smirking mischievously.

"You two can feel free to experiment on your own time. Now, who can tell me what this trap is called?" Gobber asked, pointing to the bear trap.

"Ruffnut-be-gone?" Tuffnut answered with a laugh. Ruffnut responded by flicking his ear "Ow! Oh, my lobe."

"It's called a snapper." Fishlegs corrected

"Potato, potahto." Tuffnut said dismissively.

"You guys, this is really important. Okay? Eyes forward." Hiccup instructed sternly.

"No problemo." Ruffnut said. But instead of focusing on the traps, the Thorston twins started a staring contest with each other.

Fishlegs continued on, ignoring the blonde twins. "Other traps include ropers, grabbers, and netters."

"Ah, well done, Fishlegs." Gobber praised. "But remembering how to unset them... that's what separates the men from the maimed."

Meatlug growled at the trap, not liking her human being anywhere near it. "Oh, it's alright, girl. Daddy'll be fine." Fishlegs reassured, hugging his dragon. He and Astrid started walking towards the trap. "For the roper, press your foot against the activation line." Fishlegs explained as he does just that.

"Then, remove the latch key, which takes tension off the trigger. Then you can cut the rope." Astrid continued, removing the latch key.

"Someone's been paying attention." Gobber praised, impressed. "And what about the notorious netter trap?"

Determined not to be outdone by the others, Snotlout stepped up. "Ah, ah, ah. I got this one."

"Please, be my guest." Hiccup said, already knowing how it would end.

"Is it wrong to root for the trap?" Astrid whispered to Hicca and Hiccup.

"I don't think so." Hicca answered, also smiling.

"Let's just call it a teaching moment." Hiccup agreed.

"Okay. It's pretty simple, actually." Snotlout said confidently. "You just detach the ropey chain-looking thing, pull the pointy part back. Then... Aah!" Unfortunately for the Jorgenson boy, he stepped right on the trap, causing it to spring up and capture him in the net.

"That is now my favourite trap." Raeda said, amused at the scene unfolding.

"Hookfang, you gonna get me out of here?" Snotlout demanded. The Monstrous Nightmare simply snorted in reply. "Anytime."

"Hiccup, Hicca, you two want to release the beast?" Gobber offered.

"That's not absolutely necessary, is it?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, I think we can benefit from watching this." Raeda stated.

Gobber ignored the two girls and gestured for the Haddock twins to step up. Toothless and Midnight joined their riders to the trap and allowed the two humans to stand on their heads to get higher to the trap.

"Okay, engage the safety pin." Hiccup said, doing just that.

"Dislodge the trigger strut." Hicca continued.

They opened the net, causing Snotlout to fall to the ground. "Oof! Teacher's pets." He grumbled

The auburn twins got of their dragons and onto the ground.

"And now for the final touch." Hicca said.

"Toothless, plasma blast." Hiccup ordered. Toothless fired at the trap causing it to activate and get knocked to the side. "Good job, bud."

Gobber then turned to the Thorston twins, who were still in their staring contest. "Ah. Right. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, show me how to unset this snapper trap."

"Can't. Staring contest." Tuffnut stated, not breaking his eye contact with Ruffnut.

"Now!"

"Fine. You don't have to get so testy." Ruffnut said, annoyed that her and Tuffnuts' staring contest is being interrupted. The two of them started walking towards the trap, but they were still locked in their staring contest, that they weren't properly looking where they were going. They walked right into the middle of the trap, activating the trap and causing the claws to close in on them.

Everyone flinched, shocked by what they saw as Tuffnut screamed. "Ah! You almost cut off my head." He complained, revealing that the claws closed in on their helmets, to everyones' relief.

"Now that would have been stare-worthy." Ruffnut commented. "Ah, next time."

"Should have seen that one coming." Gobber sighed. "Raeda, why don't you come over and unset this trap?"

The Henderson girl nodded and walked towards the trap. "Remove the latch key and turn the knob clockwise." She stated, doing just that. The snapper trap immediately opened, releasing Ruffnut and Tuffnuts' helmets.

"Good work." Gobber said before turning to the others. "Alright, listen here. You all have your assignments. There are dozens of dragon traps left over from, well…" He lowered his voice so that the dragons won't hear. "when we killed them." His voice went back to normal. "But since we don't, well…" Quiet voice. "kill them anymore," Back to normal. "we thought it might be a good idea to clear them before some wild dragon wanders into one and gets caught. So get going."

Hiccup walked towards Ruffnut and Tuffnut. After watching them in the session, the Haddock boy wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let them go off on their guys know what you're doing, right?"

What kind of question is that?" Tuffnut asked.

"A necessary one." Astrid piped in.

Hiccup waited for a reply, but was only met with blank stares by Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "You have absolutely no idea, do you?"

"Absolutely…" Tuffnut trailed off.

"No idea." Ruffnut finished.

Hiccup sighed in exasperation. He definitely couldn't send those two out for a dangerous task like this. "Guys, we're clearing dragon traps. It's very dangerous for you and for your dragon." He was still met with blank stares. "You know what? Forget it. You guys stay here, where you can't get into trouble."

"Actually, we can get into trouble pretty much anywhere." Tuffnut argued. "Remember that empty room?"

"He's got a point." Astrid said, remembering the incident. It still amazed everyone on Berk the level of destruction the blonde twins caused that day in a short amount of time.

"Look, I-I just don't know If I can trust you guys out there right now. This is serious." Hiccup said getting straight to the point.

The Thorston twins looked offended at that. "Wow, that was harsh." Tuffnut said, his face fallen.

"Yeah. Ouch." Ruffnut agreed, looking equally dejected.

Hiccup immediately tried to backpedal. "Yeah... no, I didn't mean it like that, it's just…"

"No, we get it. You think we're useless." Tuffnut interrupted solemnly.

"I didn't say that." Hiccup argued.

"But you were thinking it." Astrid chimed in, much to Hiccups' dismay.

"That's not helping me at all." Hiccup muttered to her.

Hicca overheard the conversation and decided to step in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Ruff, Tuff, that's not what Hiccup was trying to say at all. You two completely misunderstood him."

"We did?" Tuffnut and Ruffnut said.

"They did?" Hiccup asked, wondering where his twin was going with this.

"Yes, they did." Hicca said firmly, shooting her brother a look that told him to play along before turning to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "What Hiccup is saying is that you two should come with me to disable the traps. That way we can cover more ground."

"That's what he meant?" Tuffnut asked confused.

"Yep, right Hiccup?" Hicca asked, giving her brother a sharp nudge.

"Uh, y-yeah." Hiccup said, getting the hint. It was better than offending the blonde twins.

"Mmmhmm, and I agree with him completely." Hicca said.

"Oh. Well why didn't you say that from the start. Let's go." Ruffnut said as she and Tuffnut got on Barf and Belch.

Hicca was about to go on Midnight, when Hiccup stopped her. "Are you sure you're going to be fine with them?" Hiccup whispered, low enough so that Ruff and Tuff wouldn't hear.

"I'm sure and I have Midnight with me, right girl?" Hicca turned to her dragon, who warbled in agreement.

"Okay, just be careful and please keep a close eye on them." Hiccup said. His sister nodded and got on Midnight.

Hiccup and Astrid watched as the three teens flew away. "You know, I'm actually gonna miss Ruffnut and Tuffnut when they don't come back." Astrid commented.

"Really not helping, Astrid." Hiccup deadpanned.

Up in the air, Hicca surveyed the area below her for any signs of a trap.

"Hey, Hicca. Thanks for clearing things up back there. I was beginning to think Hiccup was doubting our Thor-given dragon abilities." Tuffnut called to the Haddock girl.

"Me too. I felt like he didn't know us." Ruffnut agreed.

"No problem." Hicca replied as they landed. Inside she felt a little guilty for lying to them, but she knew what it was like to be called 'useless' and it was not a good feeling. Plus they might actually be a help for her.

"Wait, what are we doing again?" Tuffnut suddenly asked.

...Or maybe not.

It was Ruffnut who answered. "We're supposed to look for the hidden traps."

"Hidden traps. Check." Tuffnut said. "Okay, where do you think they'd hide?"

"It'll be in plain sight. Just keep a sharp eye out." Hicca answered as she surveyed the area.

"Right." Tuffnut then started looking around. "Here, trappy. Here, little snapper trap."

Hicca sighed as she watched Tuffnut call out for a trap like it was a dog. They were definitely going to be here for a while.

Tuffnut then spotted a netter trap. "Found it!" He exclaimed as he walked towards the trap.

Hicca's eyes widened and she quickly walk towards Tuffnut. "Tuff, wait! Don't walk-"

But her warning came too late as she and Tuffnut step right on the trap, causing it to spring up and trap them in the net.

"Found it!" Tuffnut exclaimed. He and Hicca were back to back with their legs dangling from the net.

"Oh, no." Hicca muttered, grasping onto the net. Midnight went to the trap and warbled in worry. She then prepared to blast the trap, when Hicca noticed. "Midnight stop!" That halted Midnight. "This trap is designed so that no dragon could escape. If you blast it, you might make it worse." So Midnight slumped down and tried to come up with a different way to free her human.

Tuffnut grunted as he struggled in the net. "Little help, sis?"

"Nah, you're doing fine." Ruffnut said nonchalantly. Tuffnut started whimpering, much to his twins' annoyance. "Okay, okay. Ugh, quit your whining." She then started walking away, much to Hicca and Tuffnuts' confusion.

"Uh, Ruffnut?" Hicca called out.

"Where are you going?" Tuffnut asked.

"You said you wanted help. I'm going back to the village to get Hiccup. Duh." Ruffnut said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You don't need Hiccup. You just need to unset this trap." Hicca said.

"Riiight…." Ruffnut trailed off.

Hicca noticed the confusion in the blonde girl's' face. "You don't know how to unset this trap, do you?" She deadpanned.

"Not a clue." Ruffnut agreed.

Hicca gave out a sigh in exasperation before speaking up. "Well, luckily I do. Get above the trap and I'll walk you through it."

Ruffnut stood on Barf's head and the half of the Zippleback raised her up right above the netter trap. "Okay, it's pretty simple. Just engage the safety pin and dislodge the trigger strut. Just like how Hiccup and I did back in the Academy." Hicca instructed from below.

"Right." Ruffnut said, as she got to work.

Hicca and Tuffnut waited for a few seconds, preparing to land on the ground. But that moment never came. "Uh, Ruffnut? Did you do what I told you to do?" Hicca asked.

"Yep." Ruffnut answered.

Hicca looked at the ground which was still six feet below her and Tuffnut. "Then why are we still in the trap?"

"Uh...maybe there's something wrong with the trap?"

"Hiccup, Gobber and I built each and every trap with care and precision. We tested all of these traps and make sure that they work perfectly before we set them. There is no way there could be something wrong with this trap." Hicca said.

"Well…."

"Be honest Ruffnut, did you actually do what I told you to do?"

"...No."

Hicca mentally face-palmed. "How difficult is it to follow? Step one, engage the safety pin."

"And where exactly is this safety pin?" Ruffnut asked.

Hicca paused at that. If Ruffnut couldn't even find the safety pin, then it will take forever for her to get them out of there. "Okay, nevermind. Get down from there." Ruffnut signalled Barf to lower her. "Let me see if I can just-" Hicca tried climb to the top of the net, accidently kicking Tuffnut along the way ("Sorry, Tuff.") and held on to the top of the net. She tried to extend her arm to the top, but it was no use. Sighing in defeat, slumped back to the bottom, again accidently hitting Tuffnut ("Sorry again, Tuff") "Alright Ruff, looks like you're going to have to go to the village and get my brother after all."

"But don't tell him I got us both stuck in the trap. We'll never hear the end of it." Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, you're right." Ruffnut said. She then got an idea. "I'll tell him the trap got caught in you two."

"I like where your head's at." Tuffnut said.

"Whatever excuse you want to use, just make sure you get him or anyone of the others." Hicca said. A thought then crossed her. "Except for Snotlout."

Ruffnut got on Barf when she realised something. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. We need two riders. How am I gonna fly Barf and Belch without you?"

"Duh, hand signals." Tuffnut said.

"Oh, cool. Great idea." Ruffnut said.

"Yeah, it is." Hicca agreed. There's some hope for these two.

"Okay, Belch, fly." Tuffnut instructed, giving the hand-signal. The Zippleback flew off. "Yes! Save your father from the snapping trap." Tuffnut called out. Unfortunately, Belch misunderstood the command and started flying back towards his rider with Barf still flying towards the village. This caused the Zippleback and Ruffnut to crash back to the ground next to the netter trap. "Whoa, that was quick. Where's Hiccup?" Tuffnut asked, oblivious.

"Take Midnight. She'll get you to Hiccup and back fast." Hicca suggested.

"Alright then." Ruffnut said, walking towards Midnight. But the female Night Fury started avoiding the blonde girl, making sure to be a few steps away from the human whenever she got close. There was no way Midnight was going to leave Hicca like this, even if it was only for a short period of time. Who knows what would happen to her human in a short amount of time.

"Uh, what's going?" Ruffnut said, confused on why the female Night Fury was acting like this.

"Midnight is loyal to a fault." Hicca sighed, realising the reason Midnight refused to fly away.

"Fine then, I'll walk back." Ruffnut declared as she started walking. "Barf, Belch, keep an eye on Tuffnut."

"Okay, yeah. Great idea. I'll wait here with Hicca." Tuffnut called to his sisters' retreating form.

"If only Gobber, Hiccup and I came up with a way to free ourselves from inside the trap." Hicca sighed once more as she started fiddling with the rope on the net.

"Well, just so you know, I'm not helpless." Tuffnut stated. He then started squirming around the net, hoping somehow he and Hicca would break free from it.

Ruffnut continued to walk down the path in the forest when she came across two different paths. One would lead her to the village, the other would get her lost. She needed to pick one, and she had a brilliant idea on how to. She covered her eyes with one hand and used the other to point back and forth between the two direction in front of her by saying. "Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. Yes."  
She finally chose a path and walk towards it.

Meanwhile in another part of the forest, Hiccup and Toothless were having an easier time deactivating the traps. "All right, bud. Blast it!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless did so, causing the trap to close off. "Good work."

The two of them then noticed the change in wind. "Hmm. You feel that, bud?" Hiccup asked. Toothless warbled in response. "There's a dry hot wind coming in from the hasn't rained for two months. This is definitely fire weather." Hiccup inferred getting back on Toothless. "Okay, bud, let's get back to the village and find my Dad. Hopefully Hicca's already done and is there if Ruffnut and Tuffnut didn't get themselves into trouble." He then paused as he rethought his last sentence. 'Oh boy'

Back at the netter trapped, Hicca and Tuffnut were still waiting with their dragons for Ruffnut and Hiccup. Midnight was surveying the area looking for any signs of danger, while Barf and Belch we're taking a nap.

"You know, Barf, I just realized something." Tuffnut started saying to his sister's half of the dragon, who was still napping. "We never talk, and well, that makes me sad. I mean, I get it. I ride the other head. But it doesn't mean that we can't have lunch or something, you know, get to know each other on a more personal level. Am I right, Hicca?"

"Yeah, of course. Having one dragon doesn't mean you can't bond with other dragons." Hicca replied.

"Yeah." Tuffnut said. He started moving around in the net. "Hey, do either of you remember how to undo this?" He asked his dragon who was still napping. Hicca just shook her head at him, not that Tuffnut could see. The blonde teen then got an idea. "Wait a minute. What am I doing? I'm a professional dragon trainer. Barf, Belch." This woke the Zippleback from their us."

"Tuffnut, that's not going to work." Hicca tried to explain, but was cut off when the Zippleback started pushing the net back and for with his heads. Barf and Belch had no idea how to free the two teens so they just did what they knew, despite Tuffnut and Hicca's protest for them to stop. It ended when the net hit the tree, hitting Tuffnut face-first. Hicca, luckily was at the opposite side and didn't get hurt.

"Okay, one more time." Tuffnut said, enjoying the pain. Barf and Belch did so, again only hitting Tuffnut. The dragon then continued to hit the net back and forth with the teens trying to stop them until Midnight came and saw what was happening. She immediately roared at the Zippleback, making them move away.

"Thanks Midnight." Hicca said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay, no more suggestions, Tuff. I know you're trying to help and I appreciate that, but right now all we can do is wait for my brother to get her. He'll get us out in a second when he does."

"Okay." Tuffnut said shrugging.

Hiccup and Toothless arrived back in the village and found Stoick and Gobber. "Uh, Dad, I-I need to talk to you."

"No time to talk, son. Fire weather." Stoick said as he and Gobber worked on the preparations.

Hiccup was surprised by that. "How'd you know that?"

"Gobber, show him." Stoick instructed.

Gobber took Hiccups' and put it on his chin. "Feel that?"

"Uh, yes." Hiccup answered feeling very awkward.

"It's usually supple, tender, like a newborn baby. When it's fire weather, dry as a 50-year-old yak." Gobber explained.

"Which brings us to you and Hicca." Stoick said.

"It does?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

"Yes. One errant dragon blast could burn Berk to the ground. So make sure the Thorston twins don't do anything stupid out there." Stoick warned.

If only they knew what was going on...

Ruffnut was still walking through the forest, trying to find any signs of the village. "Ugh, it'd be easier to get around these woods if there weren't so many trees." She grumbled. Suddenly, she was hit in the head by an apple! Another apple came at her before she turned and found the source. It was a few Terrible Terrors perched on one of the tree branches. "Knock it off already." Ruffnut huffed in annoyance. But the tiny dragons responded by throwing another apple at her. Annoyed, Ruffnut grabbed one of the fallen apples and threw it back, only to get several more apples thrown at her knocking her out cold.

Back at the netter trap, Tuffnut continued his conversation with Barf. "So if I'm reading your silence correctly, you think my sister's so competitive because she's a woman in a man's world? I mean, that explains so much, especially her inner rage. And her outer rage. And, all that... all the rage in her fists and her feet and her navel. I totally get why she'd feel trapped. I mean, I feel trapped."

"Well, we kind of are still trapped." Hicca piped in. "But that's an interesting analysis on Ruffnut. I have actually never thought of her like that."

"Well that's what Barf is observing." Tuffnut said. He then looked around the trap and said to himself. "Come on, think. How'd Gobber undo this thing? Come on. Come on! You are not useless. You are not useless!" Tuffnut said as he hit his helmet repeatedly, trying to get an idea. He then gave up. "Okay, I'm totally useless."

Hicca gave Tuffnut a sympathetic look. "You're not useless Tuffnut. You have certain strengths and weaknesses just like the rest of us. You along with your sister both play a valuable part in our team. Besides, it won't help even if you did remember how to unset this trap. There's nothing either of us can do in this net."

They then heard some branches snapping, putting the dragons on high alert. The group looked and saw a big Typhoomerang walking towards them!

"Uh oh!" Hicca said, her eyes widening at the wild dragon.

"You were wrong, Hicca. I'm even more useless than I imagined." Tuffnut exclaimed. He and Hicca then started screaming in terror. "Help! Help!"

Barf and Belch got in between the Typhoomerang and the teens and let out some smoke. They were about to ignite it when the Typhoomerang pushed them right into Tuffnut and Hicca, causing their net to start spinning.

"Hey! Hicca and I are not your playthings!" Tuffnut exclaimed to the dragon as the net continued spinning. Midnight then attacked the Typhoomerang. She fired a few blasts at it, until it roared at her. Then, surprisingly, the female Night Fury's pupils went from slits back to round and she stopped her attacks.

The net kept spinning, but was starting to slow down. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey! I may barf!" Tuffnut said.

"Please don't." Hicca pleaded.

Finally the net stopped spinning completely "Uh, way more dizzy than usual." Tuffnut groaned, before his face lit up. "I like it! Wait, why are we getting rid of these traps again? They're awesome."

"I am so taking a week off after this." Hicca muttered, trying to recover from her dizziness. As soon as she does, she noticed that neither the Night Fury, nor the Zippleback were fighting against the Typhoomerang and the Typhoomerang wasn't attacking either of them. "What's going on?"

"Barf, Belch, Midnight, it's three against one, come on!" Tuffnut shouted. "Get in there, and show him who's boss."

But neither of the dragons did anything. Surprisingly, they even let the Typhoomerang approach the trapped teens. Hicca tried to keep herself calm. Maybe this dragon isn't a threat, that could why Midnight is not attacking it. The female Night Fury would never let her human face any danger, right?

Tuffnut on the other hand didn't seem to bothered to being approached by the wild dragon. "First of all, there's something you should know. I never lose a staring contest." He kept his gazed fixed on the Typhoomerang. The dragon had no idea what was going on, but it sensed a challenge and kept its gaze on the human boy. They were at it for a few seconds until the Typhoomerang blinked. "I win!" Tuffnut exclaimed in triumph. He then squinted at the dragon. "Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but have we met before?"

Hicca gave a confused look at Tuffnut before looking back at the dragon in front of them. She then realised that Tuffnut wasn't completely off-track. "Hey now that you mentioned it…." She trailed off, trying to remember.

"You... you look so familiar." Tuffnut said to the Typhoomerang. "Wait a minute! Uh, were you ever on Outcast island? No, no, no, no. That's not it. How about Breakneck bog? Dragon island? Dragon bog? Breakneck island?"

Hicca tried to remember, but got distracted when Tuffnut started naming islands. "Tuff, the last two islands don't even exist."

The dragon just growled at them. "Ah, playing it close to the wing, are we?" Tuffnut said to the dragon. The Typhoomerang then turned to the three other dragons and started growling at them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. They're cool." Tuffnut reassured, thinking that the Typhoomerang was threatening them. "That's Barf and Belch, my completely awesome dragon. I share it with my completely un-awesome sister. You can meet her, if she hasn't been eaten by a pack of angry boars, torn limb from limb in a frenzy of wild animal rage…"

"Tuffnut!" Hicca chided.

"Sorry, I got lost in the rhapsody of it all." Tuffnut said, shaking his head. "Anyways, that is Midnight, Hicca's completely awesome dragon." The Typhoomerang then started snarling at the teens. "Uh, roar?" Tuffnut asked. Typhoomerang then started roaring at them. Tuffnut decided to roar back. This exchange went on for a bit, while Hicca, Midnight, Barf and Belch watched with bewildered and confused expressions. "That was totally fun. Hey, what do you want to do now?" Tuffnut asked cheerfully.

Meanwhile, the rest of the dragon riders, except for Ruffnut, and their dragons regrouped back in the Academy after disabling most of their traps. Hiccup looked towards the forest, hoping for any sign of his sister, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, but found none. He couldn't wait any longer.

"Where are you going?" Astrid asked as Hiccup got on Toothless.

"Hicca and the Thorston twins haven't come back yet, and no one's seen them." Hiccup answered. "I knew I shouldn't have sent them out there."

"Don't blame yourself Hiccup, you couldn't have known what happened." Raeda reassured.

"We're going with you." Astrid declared.

"No. They're my responsibility. I'll find them." Hiccup said firmly, leaving no room for arguments. He and Toothless then flew off.

Back in the forest, Tuffnut decided to teach the Typhoomerang some tricks. "Wing raise. Okay, okay." The Typhoomerang just stared at Tuffnut in confusion. "Watch me. Wing raise." He then raised his arms up, hoping that the Typhoomerang would copy and it did. "Whoa! It worked. Did you see that, Hicca?"

"I definitely did and I got to say I'm impressed." Hicca said, her expression showing it.

"Now I just need Hiccup to see this." Tuffnut said before turning to the Typhoomerang. "All right, spin." The Typhoomerang just raised its wings again. "No, no, you gotta watch us."

Hicca's eyes widened as she realised what Tuffnut just said. "Whoa, whoa wait!" But she was too late as Tuffnut started spinning the net again.

The Typhoomerang watched and then started copying them. "Ah, yes! We're totally in sync." Tuffnut cheered as the net slowed down again.

"Next time warn me at least." Hicca said, feeling dizzy.

"Sorry." Tuffnut said. He then looked at the dragon again. "Are you sure we've never met before?" Hicca was too busy recovering from her dizziness to take a closer look at the dragon. "Nah, you just probably have one of those faces."

In another part of the forest, Ruffnut started regaining consciousness as the Terrible Terrors were chirping above her. As she got up, she sniffed and smelled a smoke. She looked at a distance and saw a fire spreading in the forest. "Fire? Not good. Gotta get back to Tuffnut and Hicca." She said to herself. Now she just needs to find her way back. "I know! I'll retrace my steps! One at a time." She started walking backwards.

Hiccup and Toothless flew above the forest trying to find the missing teens and dragons. "Keep your eyes open, Toothless." Hiccup instructed. He then noticed the smoke coming from an area in the forest. "Like I said, fire weather. Just great." He grumbled. He then got an idea. "You know what they say, where there's fire, there's the Thorston twins. And Hicca is bound to be with them.

Back at the trap, Tuffnut continued to bond with his new dragon friend while Hicca tried to figure out why the dragon looked familiar. Then Ruffnut came walking backwards towards the group. The two trapped teens and dragons watched the blonde girl in confusion.

"Uh, Ruffnut?" Hicca called out, getting Ruffnuts' attention. The Thorston girl turned around and noticed the Typhoomerang. Her eyes widened. "Tuffnut, Hicca, do not move." Ruffnut whispered to them. "There is a massive... and I mean massive… Typhoomerang standing next to you."

"We can see that, Ruffnut" Hicca said in a normal tone

"And why are you whispering?" Tuffnut asked, also in a normal tone.

"Why aren't you two whispering? This is serious." Ruffnut replied, still whispering.

"It's okay, Ruff. This dragon is actually pretty friendly." Hicca reassured.

"Here, watch this." Tuffnut said before turning to the Typhoomerang. "Roooaaaar!" The Typhoomerang roared right in Ruffnuts' face. "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, awesome." Ruffnut commented. She then remembered the forest weather. "Oh, hey, this'll bum you two out. There's an out-of-control forest fire headed this way."

"What?!" Hicca gasped. What are they going to do?

"Heh. Why would that bum me out?" Tuffnut asked nonchalantly. "I mean, I love 'out of control.'"

Ruffnut then shrugged. "Okay, see ya!" She said walking away.

"Ruffnut!" Hicca shouted

"I'm kidding. Get us out of here, please?" Tuffnut pleaded, making Ruffnut stop.

Hiccup and Toothless continued to fly through the forest looking for Hicca and the Thorston twins. "Toothless, there. Come in low, bud, to avoid the fire and the massive... Typhoomerang?" His green eyes widened when he saw the massive Typhoomerang up ahead. "The clearing, Toothless! We can make the clearing."

They zoomed through the forest into the clearing where the group was. Unfortunately, in his panic at the sight of the Typhoomerang, Hiccup wasn't focusing on controlling the stirrup properly, causing the duo to stumble and crash into the clearing right in front of the group.

"Hiccup!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Oh thank goodness you're here, bro." Hicca sighed in relief at the sight of her brother. Midnight bounded towards her mate.

The Typhoomerang moved its' attention to the two newcomers and gave out a roar. "Okay, everybody stand back. This is bad." Hiccup said, looking at the Typhoomerang.

The Typhoomerang then approached the trio. Toothless started growling at the new dragon, until Midnight stopped, giving out some warbles to him.

Hiccup paid no attention to the Night Furies as he got a proper look at the Typhoomerang. "Wait a second. I know you."

The Typhoomerang then flew to them and enclosed the boy in his wings.

"Hiccup!" Hicca exclaimed worriedly. She didn't understand, the Typhoomerang seemed really friendly to her and Tuffnut.

"Oh, man, your new dragon just ate Hiccup." Ruffnut said.

"Bad Typhoomerang." Tuffnut reprimanded. "Now you barf out Hiccup right now!"

The Typhoomerang opened its wings, revealing that Hiccup is okay. Hiccup looked up at the massive dragon and slowly raised his palm up towards the Typhoomerang. The dragon nuzzled into the palm. Hiccup then realised why this dragon is so familiar. "Th-this isn't just any Typhoomerang. Hicca, Ruff, Tuff, don't you recognize this guy?" The three of them exchanged confused glances. "Look at him. It's Torch!"

"What? No way." Ruffnut said dubiously.

"Hiccup, Torch is, like, this big." Tuffnut reminded the auburn boy, holding his hands close together. The blonde boy then scoffed. "And he calls himself the dragon conqueror."

"Uh, no, I don't call myself that, and this is Torch." Hiccup said.

Hicca's eyes widened. "Wait you're right. That's why he so familiar! I can't believe I didn't recognised him from the start. He has really changed."

"Yeah he just grew. A lot." Hiccup agreed. "That's what happens when you, well, grow up."

"Uh, nope. I'm drawing a blank here. I don't know anything about that." Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, got nothing." Ruffnut agreed.

Toothless and Torch started growling and snarling at each other. It seems that they still haven't gotten over their feud. Midnight rolled her eyes at her mates' antics. "Oh, come on, guys. You're not gonna start this again." Hiccup said in exasperation. "Right now we've got a fire bearing down on us." He then turned to Ruffnut. "Ruffnut, get Tuffnut out of that trap."

"Yeah, about that... we've been trying." Ruffnut explained.

"But someone, and I won't mention any names, didn't give very clear instructions." Tuffnut finished for his sister.

"Honestly, I don't think I could be any more clearer to you guys." Hicca argued.

Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "Oh, never mind." He walked to Barf and Belch. "Barf, Belch, help me up." The Zippleback lowered its' head, allowing Hiccup to stand on Belch's head. He then raised Hiccup above the trap, allowing him to work on deactivating it.

Just then smoke started filling in the area, indicating that the fire is getting closer.

"Just... just leave us." Tuffnut wheezed as he and the others started coughing at the excessive smoke. "Save yourselves."

"You heard him. Let's get out of here." Ruffnut said to Hiccup before she started walking away.

"Ruffnut!" Hicca and Hiccup both yelled.

"Again, kidding." Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, me too. Ha." Ruffnut said nervously, trying to cover up her mistake.

Hiccup tried to disable the trap, but couldn't. "It's stuck tight." He said, before getting Belch to lower him on the ground. "We need to get out of here. That fire's headed straight to Berk." He then turned to the Typhoomerang. "Torch, can you give us a lift?"  
Torch obliged and used his mouth the lifted the tree from the ground and into the air.

"This is awesome and scary! Aah!" Tuffnut yelled as he and Hicca dangled in the net. Ruffnut and Hiccup joined them on their dragons with Midnight flying near the Typhoomerang.

"The fire's headed for that logging path." Hiccup noted. "If it jumps over, it'll burn through Berk before we can do anything." He then came up with an idea. "Okay, Torch. Set us down on that path."

Torch growled and lead the group towards the fire. Hicca and Tuffnut tried to avoid feeling the heat from the fire. "Hey, guys? As awesome as this fire is up close, I think my back hair just went up in flames." Tuffnut said. "And, you know how much I love my back hair. And how much of it there is."

"It's true. He does." Ruffnut confirmed. "Almost as much as I like mine."

"That's not really something we need to know right now. Or ever." Hicca said.

"Just hang on. We're going in for a landing." Hiccup reassured as they started to land.

"Wait a minute!" Tuffnut said, before Torch set the tree back on the ground.

"Okay, that is something I don't want to try again." Hicca said.

"Speak for yourself." Tuffnut said.

Hiccup looked and saw that, to his dismay, the fire had already jumped over the logging path. "Ah, it's too late."

Tuffnut then got an idea. "Hey, Torch can help. Torch!" Tuffnut gave the hand signal to Torch to spin and the Typhoomerang started doing just that.

Hiccup realised what the Typhoomerang was doing. "Torch! No! Don't do that." He said, stopping Torch from spinning. Hiccup then turned to Tuffnut. "Tuff, we don't need any more fire. Especially coming from a Typhoomerang. We need to get water."

"First of all, you don't fight fire with water." Tuffnut argued.

"At least we don't." Ruffnut added.

"We fight it with fire." Tuffnut explained.

"Fight fire with fire? Guys that's…" Hicca started to say before she thought about it. "A good idea."

Hiccup was thinking the same thing. "If we clear these trees ahead of the fire, there won't be anything left that it can burn. Ruff, Tuff, that's brilliant."

"It definitely is." Hicca agreed.

"Duh, hello?" Ruffnut said, as if it was obvious.

"We knew that. We knew we were brilliant." Tuffnut said.

The wheels in Hiccups' head started turning. "Okay, guys, here's the plan. When I give the signal, tell Midnight, Barf and Belch to start blasting. Toothless and me are gonna do the same."

"Fight fire with fire! We should make that our catchphrase." Ruffnut said to her twin.

"Yeah, that or…'a yak's gotta do what a yak's gotta do.'" Tuffnut suggested. He noticed the looks the other three were giving him. "What? It's catchy. Oh, don't tell me you won't be using that."

Hiccup decided to ignore that and move on with the plan. They all turned to face the fire "Ready? Now!" Hiccup commanded. All the dragons started blasting at the fire. It seemed to be working. "We gotta keep it moving that way." Hiccup said.

"Toothless, wind!"

"Midnight, wing blast!"

"Barf, Belch! Wings!"

"Do your thing, Torch!"

The combined attacks from the dragons was weakening the fire.

"Torch! Now!" Hiccup said repeating the same hand gesture Tuffnut used to get the Typhoomerang to spin. By spinning, Torch created a cyclone that got rid of the rest of the fire. "Nice going, Torch. You too, bud." Hiccup praised.

"And still, no love for one of the trapped Viking." Tuffnut grumbled. Torch then rubbed his head against Tuffnut showing affection. "Finally!"

Back at the Academy, Astrid, Raeda, Fishlegs, Snotlout and Gobber were still waiting for the rest of the dragon riders and dragons to come back. What they were expecting to see was a Typhoomerang coming into the Academy, placing down a tree with Hicca and Tuffnut caught in the net followed by Hiccup, Ruffnut, Toothless, Midnight, Barf and Belch.

"A Typhoomerang! Amazing." Fishlegs said, looking at the new dragon in awe.

"Not just any Typhoomerang. Take a closer look." Hiccup said.

Fishlegs did and gasped when he put two and two together. "Is that Torch?"

"No way!" Astrid said in shock.

"That's incredible! He has grown a lot." Raeda said.

"I know right? That was what I was thinking when I first realised it was him." Hicca said.

"Please tell me he didn't bring the family." Snotlout said worriedly. He did not want a repeat of last time.

"Nope we're good." Hicca reassured.

"Hicca and I found him in the woods, and I trained him." Tuffnut revealed proudly.

"He actually did. It was pretty awesome." Hiccup confirmed.

"I was a witness to that." Hicca added.

Snotlout scoffed. "No way. Tuffnut couldn't even get himself out of that trap."

Tuffnut took that as a challenge. "Oh, yeah? Watch this. Hey, Torch, wings!" The Typhoomerang flapped his massive wings right in front of Snotlout, knocking the Jorgenson boy back.

"Wow, that's impressive Tuffnut." Raeda said.

Torch heard some roaring in the distance and started nuzzling Tuffnut, much to the blonde boys' confusion. "Ow. Torch, quit it. What's he doing?"

"He's saying good-bye, Tuff." Hiccup explained.

"His family must be waiting for him." Hicca said.

Tuffnut was sad to hear that and started rubbing his new dragon friends' head. "Oh. I'm gonna miss you, Torch. You're the only one who ever listened to me." He then roared at Torch, which the Typhoomerang happily returned before flying off.

Tuffnut then remembered the situation he and Hicca were in. "Okay, can you guys let me and Hicca out of this trap now, or…"

"I second that." Hicca said, glad to finally be out of this trap.

"Well, I suppose." Hiccup said. He started walking towards the netter trap when Gobber stopped him.

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast, Hiccup." The blacksmith/ dragon dentist said. "You got yourself into that. You need to get yourself out."

"Gobber neither one of us can reach the top of the trap. Trust me, I tried." Hicca argued.

"Well then Ruffnut can get you out of there." Gobber countered.

Hicca's eyes widened at that. "You can't be serious, Gobber. That's going to take forever then! No offense Ruffnut." She quickly said to the Thorston girl.

"Eh, none taken." Ruffnut said shrugging.

"Well, if you want her to work faster then you can help her. Walk her through the process." Gobber suggested.

Hicca just glared at her mentor, because seriously?

Unfortunately, even with help from Hiccup, Astrid, Raeda and Fishlegs (as much as Gobber would let them), Ruffnut still had difficulties in disabling the trap. It was late at night and Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Hicca and their dragons were still stuck in the Academy with the Thorston girl trying to free the other two teens. Hiccup, Raeda, Sparkfire and Toothless were here earlier keeping them company until Raeda had to go home and Hiccup fell asleep, leading to Hicca having Toothless carry Hiccup back home.

Currently, Hicca was sleeping in the net while Tuffnut was still awake and Ruffnut was standing on Barf's head, still trying to figure out the trap. "Wait. I think I got it." She said. She managed to undo the trap, causing Hicca to fall out, but Tuffnut wasn't that lucky as he got tangled in the net. Ruffnut suddenly fell off Barf and next to her brother, causing the net to activate again!

"Yeah, you got it, all right." Tuffnut grumbled.

Hicca woke up with a jolt as soon as she hit the ground. Blinking a few times, she groaned as she got up. She took in her surroundings as she tried to remember what happened. As soon as she remembered, her eyes widened when she realised her feet were touching the ground.

"I'm free?" She said started to smile. She then started jumping for joy. "Yes! I'm finally free from that trap!"

"Congrats, Hicca. Now if only I could say the same thing." Tuffnut said, causing Hicca to turn around and see that now Tuffnut _and_ Ruffnut were both caught in the trap.

"Oh, don't worry guys. I'll get you guys out of there in no time. Midnight!" She called her dragon over so that she could stand on her head and over the trap. But as soon as she saw the trap, Hicca was surprised. "Ruffnut, what did you do to this? It's completely jammed from here!"

"Oh that might be when I was banging it with a hammer." Ruffnut guessed.

Hicca blinked in surprise by that statement. At what point did Ruffnut bring a hammer and why did no-one stop her? Looks like that's going to remain a mystery for now, she has more urgent matters. "I can't free you guys with this. The release triggers need to be fixed." She said before signalling Midnight to lower her. When she touched the ground, Hicca got on her saddle.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ruffnut asked

"To the forge. I need some tools to fix the trap. Don't worry, we'll be back in a sec." Hicca said before she and Midnight flew out of the Academy.

Tuffnut then noticed Barf and Belch walking away as well. "Hey! Hey, where are _you_ going?" He called out to them only to be ignored. "Barf? Belch? Anybody? I thought we made some good progress out there."

"Ugh. This is worse than the womb." Ruffnut grumbled, jabbing Tuffnut with her elbow.

"Oh, yeah, you really got it, didn't you?" Tuffnut said, jabbing her back. "Yeah, you got us right next to each other."

"Ugh. God. Your back hair stinks." Ruffnut complained, pushing her twin away.

"Oh, my back hair smells? Oh, that's real original." Tuffnut retorted, pushing back. "Well, you're the weird one smelling people's back hair."

"Ugh, get your foot out of my face. That's your foot, right?"

The blonde twins kept going at it until Hicca was finally able to repair the trap and set them free.


	11. A View to Skrill (Part 1)

**A/N: Yay! New chapter. With my winter break here, hopefully I can update more regularly like I use to.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon other than my OCs.**

 **Chapter 11: A View to Skrill**

Far away from Berk, the dragon riders were on a search and rescue mission for Bucket and Mulch. They splitted up in two teams, with Raeda, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut flying South and Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid and Snotlout flying North. "We're getting pretty far North." Astrid noted.

"Bucket and Mulch are two days overdue. We need to keep searching." Hiccup said

"You don't really think they're up here, do you?" Astrid said shivering.

"It doesn't hurt to check. We need to be one hundred percent sure." Hicca said.

"You can't take the cold, huh, Astrid?" Snotlout taunted.

"No, I just don't have a heated seat like you do." Astrid retorted.

"That's right. You don't." Snotlout said as he enjoyed the warmth, due to Hookfangs' flame-jacket ability. "Ah, toasty."

They continued to search around until Hicca spotted something. "Found them!" She yelled to the others, pointing in the direction in front of her. The others looked at that direction and saw Mulch and Bucket's boat being ambushed by Berserkers.

"Looks like they're in trouble." Hiccup said. "Come on, bud!"

"Let's go, girl!" Hicca said as she and her brother led the others to attack.

The Berserkers boarded the boat and surrounded the two Berkian fisherman. "Berserkers, commandeer this vessel for Dagur the Deranged!" One of the Berserker soldier said.

But the two fishermen weren't about to give up yet.

"Slimy, stinking eel, meet slimy, stinky marauder" Mulch said as he slapped the Berserker with the eel, making him fall into the sea.

Two other Berserkers moved to attack Bucket, but the large blonde man flipped them over his shoulder and into the sea with ease. Another Berserker struck his mace onto Bucket's bucket, but with no luck. The only thing it did was bring Buckets' attention as the Berkian turned to glare at the Berserker. The soldier then decided to take his chances in the sea and jumped overboard.

The two Berkian men, although outnumbered, were holding off well against the Berserkers. Mulch then jumped up and down another Berserker's chest while the latter was down and Bucket ran up and sat down on the Berserker's face, unfortunately for the Berserker.

However, the tables were turned as some of the other Berserkers aimed their crossbows at Bucket and Mulch, freezing the two men. One of the soldiers smirked in triumph. "Surrender or—" He didn't get to finish the threat because of an unexpected arrival of two plasma blasts and Nadder spikes.

Everyone on the ship looked up and saw the Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid and Snotlout flying above them.

"Nice shooting Astrid." Hiccup praised before looking at Snotlout. "Snotlout, light them up." Snotlout flew down towards the Berserker ship and signalled Hookfang to fire at it, moving it away from Mulch and Buckets' boat.

"Midnight, Toothless, fire!" Hicca commanded. The two Night Furies continued to fire at the Berserker soldiers, making sure not to hit the two Berkians.

Seeing no other choice, the Berserker captain gave out an order to his men. "Retreat. Retreat."

The Berserkers jumped off their boat and swam towards their ship. Once they got on, then sailed away.

The four teens and dragons then got on the boat.

"What happened here?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, we thought the Berserker hit an iceberg and so we came into help." Mulch explained. "They attacked us."

"But why? I know they're Berserkers but this seems too random even for them." Hicca wondered.

"They attacked us because we saw it." Mulch answered.

"It?" Astrid repeated in confusion.

Mulch brought the boat to land and lead them to a nearby iceberg. "It." He said, pointing to the iceberg.

The four Dragon Riders and Dragons looked around the iceberg and saw that there were some tools in the snow around, most probably used by the Berserkers. But what got their attention was what was inside the iceberg.

Hiccup and Hicca walked towards the iceberg. "That looks like a…" Hiccup trailed.

"Dragon." Hicca finished.

"Why would the Berserkers be trying to dig it out?" Astrid asked.

"No idea." Hiccup said as he picked up a hammer from the ground. "But we're going to find out."

"Oh, great. Now we have to dig it out?" Snotlout complained, not liking the idea of the hard work.

"Yep, and we'll get it done in just a few minutes." Hicca said. She and her brother turned to look at their dragons, who were playing in the snow.

Soon Toothless, Midnight, Stormfly and Hookfang were flying their riders back to Berk. Each of them having a rope tied around them which allowed them to carry the large block of ice with the dragon inside it. Mulch and Bucket followed the dragons on their boat.

The teens brought the iceberg to the Academy where they met up with Raeda, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut and their dragons. As soon as the other four teens were informed of what happened, the dragon riders started discussing what to do with the iceberg.

"I say we smash it." Snotlout said slamming his fist into his palm.

"I say we blast it." Tuffnut suggested as he and his twin climbed on top the iceberg.

"I say we blast it, then smash it." Ruffnut said as they sat down onto the frozen dragon.

"Then blast it again." The blonde twins said in unison, to Tuffnuts' annoyance.

"Stop saying what I'm saying now!"

"Yeah, that's certainly one approach." Hiccup deadpanned as he walked towards the iceberg.

"Good sir, I believe it is actually three approaches, my fine fellow." Tuffnut corrected as he and Ruffnut jumped down.

"I think the first thing we need to do is figure what kind of dragon this is." Hicca said.

"Sis is right. We need a better look at this thing." Hiccup agreed. He turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, give us a slow burn."

"With pleasure. Meatlug." Fishlegs said, getting his dragons' attention. " Lava blast."

Meatlug then walked up to the iceberg and fired a lava blast at it, melting a good portion of it and causing steam to come out.

"Nice, Fishlegs." Hiccup commended.

Once the steam cleared Hiccup, Hicca and Fishlegs walked up to the iceberg and inspected the dragon inside it. The three teens looked at the dragon closely before it dawned on them what dragon they were looking at..

"No way." Hicca breathed out in awe, her eyes widening.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hiccup asked, just as shocked as his sister..

"I think so, but I've only seen pictures." Fishlegs answered in equal shock.

"Do you two realise how huge this could be?" Hiccup said looking at Hicca and Fishlegs.

"The word 'epic' comes to mind." Fishlegs said.

"The word 'trouble' also comes in mind with this dragon." Hicca said.

While the three of them discussed the new dragons, the others look at them with no clue of what the three teens were talking about.

"I hate it when they get like this." Astrid huffed, crossing her arms. She wanted to know what type of dragon it is and her three friends weren't making it easy for her.

"Don't you just?" Snotlout said, coming up to the blonde girl with a flirty smile..

"Be patient, they'll let us know eventually." Raeda advised.

"I should check the Book of Dragons to be sure about this." Fishlegs said as he and the Haddock twins walked out of the arena.

"We should check Borks' notes as well." Hicca said to her twin.

"Good idea, sis." Hiccup said. "Like you said, this could be trouble."

That's when Astrid reached her limit "If someone doesn't start filling me in, I'm getting my axe." She threatened the three departing teens as she ran after them.

"Should have known the word 'patience' is not in your vocabulary." Raeda sighed as she ran after Astrid.

Too bad the five of them didn't put much thought into who they were leaving the new dragon with. Snotlout turned to the Thorston twins and smirked. Tuffnut punched his fist into his palm. They were definitely going to have fun with the iceberg.

Suddenly Hiccup came back to the entrance. "No one touches that ice while we're gone." He yelled, warning them.

Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut held out their hands in surrender, silently proclaiming their innocence. Hiccup gave one last look at them before leaving the Academy.

Meanwhile when Bucket and Mulch reached Berk, they went to the Great Hall to inform the chief of their attack. News of the attacked reached other vikings, who have all gathered in the Great Hall to have a shouting match over the possible threat from the Berserkers.

Stoick was trying to call for order. "All right. Calm down."

"This is an act of war." Mulch exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table.

"Don't jump to conclusions about what this attack means." Stoick reasoned.

That's when Gobber decided to give his input. Too bad he wasn't on the chiefs' side. "I don't know, Stoick. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. "I mean, if you really think about it, an attack is an attack. Am I right, people?" And that caused the vikings to start another shouting match, to Stoicks' dismay.

"And thank you, Gobber." The chief sighed.

"Always here to help." Gobber said smiling, raising his mug.

That's when Astrid, Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda entered the Great Hall.

"I think we know why Dagur's men attacked Bucket and Mulch." Hiccup said as the teens walked up to the chief in the center of the crowd.

"Go on, son." Stoick encouraged. Everyone stayed quiet as they waited for the explanation.

"We got a better look at the dragon Bucket and Mulch found in the ice." Hiccup explained..

"We found a dragon?" Bucket said getting excited. "Oh, can we keep it? I've always wanted my own dragon, Mulch."

"Probably not a good idea." Hicca said.

"Yeah, uh, it's a Skrill." Hiccup said nervously.

At the revelation, everyone suddenly panicked. "Oh. I don't want one of those." Bucket said, nervously.

"Are you guys sure about this?" Stoick asked hoping that they were wrong.

"Oh, we are sure." Fishlegs called out running up to the group, carrying a book..

He bounded up to the group excitedly, cheering loudly, causing the others to look at him strangely.

Fishlegs stopped cheering when he saw the looks he was getting. "Sorry, chief, that happens sometimes when we discover a new dragon. I get a little—"

Hiccup decided to bring their focus back to the task at hand "Look, it's right here." He snatched the Book of Dragons from Fishlegs and opened the chapter on Skrills. He then showed the drawing of said dragon to everyone else. "That is definitely a Skrill."

"And the Skrill is the symbol of the Berserker tribe." Astrid said.

"A dragon like the Skrill in the hands of the Berserkers is definitely bad news." Raeda commented.

Out on the ocean on a ship, Dagur was addressing the his armada with one of the Berserker soldier by his side. "My brothers, this is a historic day for the Berserker Tribe. After many years, and many searches, Captain Vorg has found a Skrill!" He announced raising said captains' arm up. The rest of the Berserker soldiers cheered at the news.

But Dagur wasn't finished and suddenly his smile turned into a scowl. "It is such a great occasion..." He continued as he suddenly twisted Vorgs' hand painfully. "...I am willing to forgive his failure to bring it to me." He then shoved the poor captain down and kicked him in anger. "Get up," Dagur hissed at Captain Vorg when he was finished. As the captain was getting up, the deranged teen turned to the rest of his soldiers. "For centuries, the Skrill has represented our strength, our power, our ferocity. As long as _Hiccup, Hicca_ and they're little dragon club have _our_ dragon, we will not rest! We will take the Skrill out of their frail little hands and destroy those two Night Furies _together_!" At the last part of the speech, he thrust his arms out in the air, unknowingly (or maybe knowingly) knocking Captain Vorg back to the the ground.

Back on Berk Stoick, Gobber and the four teens were making their way to the Academy to see the Skrill. "Legend has it the lightning comes from the Skrill's mouth and thunder from its—well, you know." Gobber stated.

"Remind me never to get behind one." Astrid said dryly.

"That's actually inaccurate." Fishlegs corrected. "According to the Book of Dragons, the Skrill drew lighting from the clouds and redirected it."

"It could use that lightning to hit several targets at once, which is why it was a feared dragon." Hiccup said.

"It could also store the lightening in its body and use it later." Fishlegs added.

"I've heard enough." Stoick declared. "We need to get rid of that Skrill. It's just the excuse Dagur needs to go to war."

"You all know I love a good fight as much as the next person, but why not just give it to them?" Gobber chimed in. "It's just a frozen dragon carcass after all."

That's when Fishlegs give them another fact on Skrills. "Uh, actually because of their internal body temperature, Skrills can stay safely frozen for decades."

As soon as Fishlegs stated that fact, the two adults and five teens ran towards the Academy.

"So let me be clear. This dragon may still be alive and you left _Ruffnut_ , _Tuffnut_ and _Snotlout_ to guard it?" Stoick demanded, wondering what was possibly going through the teens minds on that.

"Yeah, really not one of our best moments." Hicca admitted

"Okay, that sounds much worse when you say it." Hiccup admitted to his dad. "But it's frozen solid in a block of ice. How much dragon could it possibly do?"

As, if on cue, an explosion was heard from the Academy.

"One dragon with one Monstrous Nightmare, one Zippleback and three muttonheads." Raeda corrected.

"One of these days I've got to stop saying things like that." Hiccup sighed, as the group picked up their speed.

The Arena was filled with smoke with Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut on their dragons.

"It's not that bad." Ruffnut said, surveying the damage.

"Yeah, maybe Hiccup and Hicca won't notice." Tuffnut said with hope.

"No they're definitely going to notice." Snotlout said knowingly.

The three teens along with the dragons watched as the smoke cleared, unveiling the Skrill, who is now free from its' icy prison. The dragon was now glaring at the three teens.

"Yeah, for sure. They're going to notice." Tuffnut agreed.

The other dragons circled the Skrill, preparing for a possible attack from the Skrill. The Strike Class dragon tried to escaped the Academy from above. When that failed, the dragon then pushed through Stormfly and flew out through the entrance.

"I got a plan." Tuffnut said.

"Great." Ruffnut said. "What is it?"

"Blame Snotlout." Tuffnut answered.

At that moment the rest of the dragon riders ran into the arena with Stoick and Gobber. Hiccup and Hicca glared at the three guilty teens waiting for an explanation.

"Their fault." Snotlout said pointing to the Thorston twins.

"Hey. He stole our plan." Ruffnut complained.

"I told you guys to leave it alone." Hiccup said.

"What do you have to say for yourselves." Hicca demanded

"It jumped us." Tuffnut explained as he and his sister jumped of Barf and Belch. "Sneaky dragon."

"From inside a block of ice?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh… very sneaky dragon." Tuffnut tried.

"For you guys, it would be." Raeda deadpanned.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the blonde twins and then noticed his dad examining the block of ice with a very worried expression. That bothered the boy, because his dad does not usually get worried so easily. "What is it, dad?" He asked.

"When I was lad, my grandfather used to sit me on his knee and tell me stories." Stoick answered, getting everyones' attention "I thought they were just tales."

"Tales about what?" Hiccup asked.

"Berserker fleets attacked behind harnessed dragons that brought down lightning from the sky and destroyed everything in their path." Stoick explained.

"That explains why the Berserkers have the Skrill as their crest." Raeda said.

"And why they tried to free the Skrill from the ice." Hicca said.

"You think the Berserkers could actually control a Skrill?" Hiccup asked skeptically.

"Yeah, Berserkers are not really known for being gentle." Hicca said.

"I didn't think anyone could ride a Night Fury." Stoick countered. "We just can't take the chance. If the Berserkers find that Skrill and know some way to control it—"

"We'll find it dad. I promise." Hiccup reassured.

"Yeah we won't let the Berserkers hurt anyone with that Skrill." Hicca promised.

The next morning the dragon riders were high in the air looking for the Skrill. Today the skies were cloudy with signs of a thunderstorm coming.

"Any idea what we do after we find it?" Astrid asked.

"We catch it, we tame it, we train it, keep it away from Dagur so he doesn't use it against us." Hiccup answered simply.

"And avoid getting hit by lightning." Hicca added

"Oh, yeah. That sounds easy enough." Astrid said sarcastically.

"Isn't this similar to the plan you guys had when we were facing the Whispering Death." Raeda asked.

"Actually, the Skrill does have some weaknesses." Fishlegs chimed in. "According to the Book of Dragons, it can't redirect any lightning if it's in the water."

"Yeah, see it's not completely hopeless." Hicca said, glad Fishlegs shared this fact.

"Hicca's right. That's a start." Hiccup agreed.

"No, a start would be having any clue where this stupid thing is. We've been circling the island for hours and I'm starving." Snotlout complained.

Hiccup was about to retort to that when he suddenly got an idea. "Snotlout, you just said something unintentionally brilliant." He said.

"He did?" Raeda said skeptically

"Of course I did." Snotlout said proudly. He then got confused. "What was it again?"

"When you wake up in the morning, what's the very first thing you want to do?" Hiccup asked him.

Snotlout looked at him and said. "Well, usually I have to—"

Hiccup knew what he was about to say and cut him off. "No, after that."

"Oh." Snotlout said, putting a hand to his head. "Eat."

Hicca then got the idea. "We find what the Skrill eats and where, we can find the Skrill." She said.

"Exactly." Hiccup said before turning to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, what is the Skrill's food of choice?"

Fishlegs thought for a moment and knew exactly where to go.

The dragon riders and dragons landed on Silent Svens' farm and knew that the Skrill has definitely been here. The land was scorched and the sheep were smoked. The teens went to Silent Sven and questioned him on what happened (well, except for Ruffnut and Tuffnut who were off poking one of the sheeps for fun)

As his name suggests, Silent Sven in mute. So he uses gestures to explain his stories and the five teens did their best to try to interpret it.

Silent Sven was finishing his story by tapping a spear to his head and then pointing to the sky.

"And then you fought off the Skrill with your head?" Astrid translated with uncertainty. Silent Sven nodded.

"This guy Silent Sven? Remind me not to rustle anymore sheep from his farm." Snotlout said to Fishlegs in a low voice.

Unfortunately it wasn't low enough as Silent Sven heard the commented and pointed his spear at the two boys in a threatening manner.

Snotlout chuckled nervously as he and Fishlegs raised their arms up in surrender.

"Uh, he's silent, not deaf." Fishlegs said, gently pushing the spear down with his finger. Luckily for him, Silent Sven complied.

Astrid then shoved Snotlout out of the way. "Any idea which way the Skrill went?"

Silent Sven shook his head.

They then heard a crash of thunder. They looked at the source and saw lightning coming from the dark clouds.

"I bet I know where it is." Raeda said.

The dragons riders immediately got back on their dragons and flew towards the dark clouds where the lightning was coming from.

"Shh, it's okay baby." Fishlegs said to Meatlug reassuringly. "Nothing's out here. Nothing's going to scare you."

Hiccup spotted something ahead of them. "Hold up, everybody."

They stopped and saw a shadowy figure of the Skrill ahead of them.

"Okay, now what?" Astrid asked.

"Everybody stay back." Hiccup ordered. "If the Skrill sees just one dragon, maybe it won't attack."

"I'm coming with you!" Hicca said with determination. "Maybe two dragons won't be a threat to it."

Seeing as his sister made no room for arguments, Hiccup sighed and complied. "Stay close, sis."

The Haddock twins flew towards the Skrill. But the Skrill was in no mood to talk as it flew passed the two dragons and the other dragons. Hiccup and Hicca had Toothless and Midnight fly after the dragon. They managed to catch up to it and were flying by the dragons' side.

"There, there, fella. You've been asleep a long time, huh?" Hiccup said in an attempt to calm the wild dragon. The Skrill responded by shooting a bolt of lightning at them, which Midnight and Toothless were able to dodge. "I'm guessing you're pretty cranky and hungry too."

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the iceberg." Hicca commented

The Skrill then stopped flying and turned to face them. The dragon started drawing lightning into its body.

"Uh-oh." Hicca said.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled as she and the other dragon riders flew down towards them.

Toothless and Midnight flew their riders away from the Skrill before it could fire at them again. The electric dragon then set its' sights on the other dragon riders flying towards it and fired lightning bolts at them.

The dragons scattered to keep themselves and their humans from getting hit by the lightning bolts. Fishlegs saw a lightning bolt coming at them and signal Meatlug to drop from the clouds, avoiding the hit

"And stop." Fishlegs said, once they were safe. Meatlug flapped her wings to hover near Snotlout and Hookfang. Fishlegs then took a deep breath, glad to have avoided the hit. "Wow, that was impressive."

"Sure, if by impressive you mean terrifying." Snotlout exclaimed.

"Follow me. I've got an idea." Hiccup yelled to the rest of the team. The other dragon riders followed him and Toothless out of the clouds and above the sea. "Hicca and I are going to dive through the clouds from above and drive that Skrill down to you guys so we can all drive it into the water."

"Got it." Tuffnut said. He then got confused and shook his head. "No I don't sorry. Could we go back to the first part about how you and Hicca in the cloud, or the cloud in both of you? It's all—it's sort of nebulous for me. Like a cloud in fact."

Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "Just do what everyone else does." He said.

"And how exactly are we going to find the Skrill in that cloud?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, it will be difficult for you two to navigate in there." Raeda agreed.

"Toothless and Midnight don't need to see to find something, remember?" Hiccup reminded them of the Night Furies echolocation.

"Does that work in clouds?" Astrid asked.

"Well we've actually never tried that before." Hicca admitted.

"There's only one way to find out." Hiccup said.

Then four of them then flew into the clouds.

"Toothless/ Midnight, now!" Hiccup and Hicca ordered.

The two Night Furies fired plasma blasts into the clouds, hoping to get the Skrill out of there. They found the Skrill and chased it out of the clouds. Astrid and Raeda spotted the Skrill and flew after it. As soon as they caught up with the lightning dragon, Stormfly and Sparkfire fired at it. Trying to avoid the flames from the two Deadly Nadders, the Skrill flew lower closer to the ocean.

"It's working!" Astrid exclaimed in triumph.

"Yeah keep it up!" Raeda encouraged to the two Nadders.

That's when the Thorston twins flew close to the Skrill.

"Time to give this dragon a bath." Tuffnut said to his twin.

"I'll bet he hates it as much as we do." Ruffnut said with a smirk.

Barf let out some gas to the ocean. Belch was just about to spark it when suddenly a flaming arrow was shot and ignited the gas! Taken by surprise, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch were sent flying, while the Skrill flew off unharmed.

"Where in the world did that come from?" Raeda asked Astrid. Before Astrid could reply, Sparkfire and Stormfly suddenly flew off to avoid getting hit by boulders that were suddenly flying in their direction.

"We're under attack!" Astrid yelled as the two Nadders continued to dodge the boulders.

The rest of the dragon riders and dragons were also dodging the sudden ambush. Meatlug tossed Fishlegs in the air so that they could avoid getting hit by the arrows. She caught him, much to the Ingerman boys' shaky relief.

Snotlout and Hookfang were actually at a safe range away from the ambush. Unfortunately the duo were not any luckier than the others as the Skrill decided to sneak up on them from behind. A crackle of lightning was Snotlouts' only warning of the Skrill presence.

"Oh, no." Was all Snotlout could murmur before the Skrill struck both boy and dragon with lightning. Snotlout got most of the hit thanks to his helmet. Hookfang managed to fly them both away from the Skrill while his rider started babbling in gibberish.

Hicca managed to get a look at the ships that have been attacking them. "Guys, look!" She said pointing at the ships

Hiccup and Raeda managed to get a look at the ships.

"Uh, is that…?" Hiccup asked.

"You have got to be kidding me." Raeda growled.

Of course who else would decide attack them than the Berserkers. Clearly the news spread of the sights of a Skrill. And of course standing in the leading Berserker ship was the chief of the Berserkers, Dagur the Deranged.

"Surprise, surprise, Hiccup and Hicca!" Dagur yelled at them. He then began to laugh like a maniac. "Now get your dainty little hands off my Skrill."

The Berserker soldiers continued to fire boulders and arrows at any dragon rider and dragon in sight. Despite all the dragons best efforts in dodging and deflecting every boulder and arrow flying at them, Hiccup and Hicca could see that they needed to get out of there.

When the Berserkers ran out of ammo, Hicca saw this as their opportunity.

"Hiccup, we need to regroup!" She said to her brother.

"You're right, sis." Hiccup agreed before turning to the others. "Let's get out of range before they reload." He ordered.

Fishlegs and Meatlug already started flying away. "Already ahead of you." He said.

"We were so close to getting that Skrill." Raeda said as she glared at the Berserker ships.

"I know, Rae, but we'll get that Skrill and we'll stop the Berserkers." Hiccup assured his best human friend.

"Trust us, Rae. Dagur is not going to leave with the Skrill." Hicca added.

Giving one last glare to the ships, Raeda and Sparkfire turned and joined Hicca and Hiccup and the Night Furies and they flew to catch up with the others

They then all flew away from both the Skrill and the Berserker ships. The Berserkers watched as the Berk Dragon Riders flew away.

"Hahaha! They're running!" Captain Vorg exclaimed in triumph, thinking they won. Dagur glared at the Captain. Even the deranged teen knew that the dragon riders wouldn't give up that easily.

"They're _regrouping_ , you idiot! That's it. You're relieved of duty," With that, Dagur shoved the Captain overboard, into the ocean. He didn't know what the Haddock twins were planning, but one thing was clear; there is no way he'll let them have the Skrill

The eight dragon riders and dragons landed on a sea stack safe from the Berserker ship. Hiccup looked at Snotlout who was still smoked from the electric shock he got from the Skrill.

"Hey, Snotlout, are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

It was Tuffnut who answered. "Ha, he's better than okay. Did you see that lightning bolt to the head?"

Snotlout started talking in gibberish.

"Look like he's got some brain damage from the lightning bolt." Hicca observed.

"Tuffnut's right. He's better than okay." Astrid said cheerfully. Snotlout spoke in gibberish again. "And making more sense than usual."

"This is a definite improvement." Raeda said.

"Nonetheless, I would recommend Snotlout to stay here." Hicca said.

"Okay, so then the rest of us will—" Hiccup said before Snotlout interrupted him by speaking, again in gibberish. "Snotlout, we have no idea what you're saying."

"Sure we do. He said, 'I'm perfectly fine.'" Tuffnut said explained, to everyones' surprise. Snotlout blathered again. "Said it again. I told them." The blonde boy then notice everyone staring at him. "What? I speak post-lightning Snotlout."

"How many times has this kid been hit by lightning?" Hiccup asked in disbelief. Seriously how many times does a person need to be hit by lightning for their gibberish to turn into a language the someone else understands?

"Often enough." Tuffnut said. Snotlout spoke up again. "Oh, really? 12 times?"

"I'm not sure what's more surprising; that Snotlout's blathering actually makes sense to someone or that _Tuffnut_ understands the gibberish." Raeda said.

"Really? The fact that Snotlout got struck by lightning _12 times_ doesn't bother you?" Hicca asked her best human friend with her eyebrows raised.

Raeda shrugged. "With all we've had to face these past few months, Snotlout getting struck by lightning twelve times doesn't seem to bother me."

Snotlout then started blathering again, raising a fist. The other teens turn to Tuffnut, the interpreter. "He said, 'enough talk. Dagur's all mine." He then paused before speaking. "And Tuffnut is the toughest of us all.'" Snotlout spoke up again in gibberish, sounding like he's objecting. "He implied the last part."

Hiccup facepalmed himself, before speaking up. "Well, you heard the man, Astrid. Take Snotlout and Fishlegs and try to keep the Berserker ships occupied. Hicca, Raeda, the Thorston twins and I will go after the Skrill." He commanded. "If Dagur gets his hands on it first, we won't stand a chance."

"Be careful. The lightning is attracted to metal and you two are wearing a lot more of it than the rest of us." Astrid advised Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup looked down at his metal prosthetic leg and stirrup.

"Don't worry." Raeda reassured. "Hicca and I will be by his side to make sure nothing happens to him." Hicca nodded at that.

Wasting no time, the two groups flew there separate ways.

Astrid lead Snotlout and Fishlegs towards the Berserker ships.

"Stormfly, let's rock some boats." Astrid said to the blue Nadder.

Stormfly dived towards the ships and immediately fired at them. The Berserker soldiers scrambled to safety, having been caught off guard. This signalled the other two boys to fire as well.

Hookfang flew over the Berserker ships, firing as he flew past.

Meatlug hovered near one of the Berserker ships, causing one of the soldiers on board to look up and see Fishlegs "Oh, hello." Was all he said before Meatlug fired at him.

Despite the ongoing chaos on his ships, Dagur knew better than to let that deter him. "Stay on target!" He ordered his soldiers. "They're tricky that Hiccup and Hicca." He immediately moved out of the way to avoid getting impaled by Nadder spikes, courtesy of Stormfly

While Astrid and her group kept the Berserkers busy, Hiccup led his group towards the Skrill.

"Okay, I think I have a way to get the Skrill into the water, but it's super risky." Hiccup said to the others.

"When is it not." Raeda asked.

"Good question." Hicca said to the Henderson girl.

"You, my friend, are speaking our language." Tuffnut said to Hiccup, clearly excited about the risky plan.

"Ruff, Tuff, you two will be flying blind through the cloud and have Barf let out as much gas as possible." Hiccup instructed. "Don't let Belch ignite it until you get to the other side."

"Feel my heart, because it comes forth and is bursting through my chest." Tuffnut said tearing up as he put his hand on his chest.

"Hopefully the blast will drive the Skrill out of the cloud towards Toothless, Midnight, Hicca Sparkfire, Raeda and I, where we can knock it down."

"That's a lot of gas." Tuffnut noted. "You have any idea how big a blast that will be?"

"No." Hiccup and Hicca answered.

"Me neither!" Tuffnut said excitedly. "How awesome is this?" His twin nodded in agreement.

"Just don't get to carried away." Hicca said, hoping they would listen to her, because if they didn't then the results would not be too good.

The Thorston twins flew into the cloud while Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda waited below

In the clouds, Ruffnut gave Barf the command. "That's it. Let it loose." She said. Barf then began letting out gas into the cloud.

Belch looked at the gas coming from the other head. On instinct he was going to spark it but Tuffnut stopped him. "Not you Belch. Not yet." He said. They flew a good distance through the clouds, with Barf spreading a lot of gas on the way. "Wait for it. Wait for it." Once they reached the other side of the cloud, Ruffnut signalled Barf to stop. "Go!" Belch sparked the gas and as predicted it caused a massive explosion in the clouds.

Below the clouds, the Haddock twins and Raeda spotted the Skrill flying downwards to escape the sudden explosion. The three of them dived down after it as the Skrill began to fly back up into the cloud.

"It's flying back up!" Hiccup yelled.

"We got to stop it!" Hicca yelled.

"Sparkfire!" Raeda commanded. The purple Nadder shot some spikes at the Skrill, getting its' attention.

"Okay, bud, not too much. Just enough to bring him down." Hiccup instructed Toothless.

"Keep it on a low setting, girl." Hicca said to Midnight.

Toothless and Midnight each fired a plasma blast straight at the Skrill, at the same time the wild dragon fired a lightning blast. The lightning bolt hit the two plasma blasts causing an explosion.

"Okay, that's a new one." Hiccup said.

"Did not see that one coming." Raeda agreed.

"We need a new plan." Hicca said.

"Well, let's see how it handles this." Hiccup said.

Hiccup and Toothless caught up to the Skrill, with Toothless firing multiple plasma blasts at the wild dragon, but the Skrill retaliated by firing several lightning bolts at each plasma blasts cancelling them out. Hicca and Midnight flew to other side of the Skrill with the female Night Fury doing the same as the her mate, but the Skrill was able to deflect her blasts as well.

Sparkfire fired at the Skrill, hoping to catch it off guard, but it was no use as the Skrill dodged the fire and flew back into the clouds to recharge.

"Oh, no!" Hicca exclaimed.

"This is bad." Hiccup said. The Skrill flew out of the clouds, fully charged with lightning coursing through its body. It was ready to fire at the three teens and dragon with everything it got. The Skrill started firing several lightning bolts at the three dragons, while the dragons did their best to protect their riders and themselves. It then spotted Hiccup and Toothless and started chasing after them with Raeda, Hicca, Sparkfire and Midnight flying after them. "This is worse."

"What now?" Raeda asked Hicca.

"Uh… come up with a new plan while keeping the Skrill from electrocuting my brother and Toothless." Hicca said meekly. She couldn't come up with a better idea at the moment.

"I'll take it." Raeda said as the two girls urged their dragons to fly faster to catch up with the Skrill.

The chase ended up taking the three Berkian teens, three protective dragons and one wild dragons into the clouds.

Far below the clouds, Astrid's group continued their attacks on the Berserker ships.

Hookfang continued to blasts the ships with Snotlout chanting in gibberish (No need for Tuffnut to know that Snotlout is saying "Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!")

Vorg, the Berserker captain who was pushed overboard by Dagur, managed to climb back into the ship. As he was catching his breath, the captain looked up and saw the boy and Night Fury getting chased by the Skrill with the two girls and their dragons trying to stop the Skrill from behind.

"Sir, look." Vorg said pointing to the chase, getting Dagurs' attention.

Dagur looked up at the direction Vorg was pointing at and smirked. "Well, well, it doesn't look like Hiccup and Hicca will be catching my Skrill either." He said.

"Then perhaps we should withdraw, come back for the Skrill another day." Vorg suggested.

This suggestion caused Dagur to glared at Captain Vorg. "Um, didn't I throw you overboard?" He asked.

"Well, I am an excellent swimmer." Vorg answered, hoping that would impress his chief. It didn't as the poor captain ended up getting thrown overboard again.

"Press on." He ordered the other troops on board. The Berserker soldiers wasted no time following their chiefs' command.

Having overheard the conversation, Astrid flew towards Fishlegs. "Dagur knows what we're up to." She informed him.

"What do we do?" Fishlegs asked worriedly.

"We keep attacking and make sure Dagur is focused on us." Astrid instructed.

"I hope the others are having an easier time than us." Fishlegs said as Meatlug fired another lava blast at one of the Berserker ships.

Unfortunately for Fishlegs, it didn't seem like the others were having a better luck as Hiccup and Toothless were continuing to dodge lightning bolts from the Skrill. The girls were trying to the Skrill with streams of fire and plasma blasts, but it no difference

"Oh, that one made my hair stand up." Hiccup said to Toothless after they barely dodged another lightning bolt. "We need a plan and fast."

The Skrill was getting ready to shoot another lightning bolt at them, but it suddenly got hit by a gas and spark blast from above. As Raeda and Hicca flew towards Hiccup, the Haddock boy looked up and saw the Thorston twins flying towards them.

"Yoo-hoo! Remember us?" Tuffnut taunted to the Skrill. He then turned to Ruffnut "Gas me, Ruff."

"With pleasure." Ruffnut said. Barf tried to let some gas, but found that he has run out of gas. Ruffnut huffed in annoyance

Angered at getting blasted unexpectedly, the Skrill set its' sights on the blonde twins. It flew towards them and fired a lightning bolt at them. Luckily, the Zippleback dodged the attack and flew their riders away from the wild dragon.

"Maybe we should take off our metal helmets?" Tuffnut suggested to his twin, remembering that lightning and metals do not go together.

Ruffnut then got an idea. "Or maybe we should grab all the metal we can!"

Tuffnut then got excited at the plan and agreed to it, forgetting the fact about metals and lightning. The blonde twins pulled out their swords and lifted them high in the air as they cheered.

"Those muttonheads!" Raeda muttered as she and the auburn twins saw what was going on.

"Come on! We have to help them!" Hicca said.

The three of them raced to catch up to their friends before the Skrill could fire at them. Being able to fly at a fast speed, Toothless and Midnight pushed far ahead of Sparkfire. But with the Skrill preparing strike the Thorston twins and their Zippleback, there was no time to wait for Raeda and Sparkfire to catch, not that the duo asked for it.

The Night Furies zoomed ahead caught up right between the Zippleback and the Skrill, just as the Skrill fired another lightning bolt. Toothless and Midnight fired a plasma blast at the bolt just before it could hit Barf and Belch and the blonde twins, causing a big explosion. Hicca, Raeda, Midnight, Sparkfire and the Skrill flew into the water while Hiccup and Toothless crashed on a Berserker ship, the one that Dagur the Deranged happens to be on.

The young Berserker chief was thrown back by the unexpected crash-landing along with the rest of his crew. Dagur looked up and saw Toothless growling at him, warning him not to attack.

"Hiccup." Dagur growled, glaring up at the Berkian teen as he got up.

"Sorry about your deck." Hiccup said as Toothless immediately flew off before Dagur or any of the other Berserkers could attack.

Having missed his chance, Dagur gave out a frustrated growl. He spotted Captain Vorg trying to climb back in the ship and immediately shoved him back into the water. (Maybe Captain Vorg should try getting on another Berserker ship that didn't have Dagur on board.)

Hiccup found Hicca and Raeda, who were soaking wet along with their dragons and they regrouped with Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and their dragons away from the Berserker ships.

"Did anybody see where the Skrill went?" Hiccup asked the others.

Astrid, Raeda, Hicca and Fishlegs all answered "no" while Snotlout gave an answer in gibberish that Hiccup could only assume was a "no" without Tuffnut here to translate.

Fishlegs then noticed two missing members and their dragon. "Anyone see where the Thorston twins ended up?" Fishlegs asked. Everyone eyes widened when they realised the blonde twins and the Zippleback were nowhere to be seen.

Far out in the ocean, away from the rest of the dragon riders, the Thorston twins and Barf and Belch ended up crash-landing on a sea stack, with Barf and Belch having their long necks tangle into each other. The Zippleback got up and untangle their necks while their riders recovered from the crash-landing. The twins then looked out at the sea and saw a ship pulling the weakened Skrill from the water, on board.

"Oh, great. We do all the work and the Berserkers get the Skrill anyway." Tuffnut complained.

"And that is why we don't work." Ruffnut said. "It accomplishes nothing."

"Yeah." Tuffnut agreed. They continued to look at the ship. On further inspection, they realised that it actually wasn't a Berserker ship! "Wait a minute. That's not the Berserkers. That's Alvin the Treacherous." Tuffnut exclaimed in surprise.

"Why would Alvin what a Skrill?" Ruffnut wondered.

"Why wouldn't he? Did you see that thing?" Tuffnut pointed out. "He could take out Berk with it."

"Oh, yeah." Ruffnut said. She then turned to her brother. "So we should do something, right?"

Tuffnut thought for a second before saying. "Yes, yes, we should." He then took another second to think of a plan. "Okay, I say we follow him."

"Okay. And then want?" Ruffnut asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, okay?" Tuffnut answered.

"Yeah. Good point." Ruffnut agreed.

They then flew after the Outcast ship, being careful not to be spotted by the Outcasts.

 _To be continued._


	12. A View to Skrill (Part 2)

**A/N: Another chapter I enjoyed writing. Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from 'How to train your dragon' except my OCs**

 **Chapter 12: A View To Skrill (Part 2)**

 _Previously on The Haddock Twins: Defenders of Berk_

 _Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid and Snotlout found the Berserkers trying to free an unknown dragon trapped in an iceberg. The four teens then brought the iceberg back to Berk and discovered that the dragon is a Skrill; a symbol of the Berserker tribe and a dragon who can survive being trapped in an iceberg for several years! Unfortunately, thanks to Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the Skrill is now free and highly dangerous. The Dragon Riders raced to find and tame the Skrill before the Berserkers find it and use it invade Berk. While trying to get the Skrill under control, the teens found trouble when the Berserkers attacked them, trying to get the Skrill for themselves. An attack on the Berserker ships and an explosion caused by the Skrill, Toothless and Midnight thwarted Dagur the Deranged plans and separated Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch from the others. The Thorston twins spotted Alvin the Treacherous bringing the Skrill into his ship and flew after him, unbeknownst to the other dragon riders._

It's been hours since Ruffnut, Tuffnut and their dragon were separated from the rest of the Dragon Riders and dragons. It was late at night and there is still no sign of any of them, no matter how long and far any of the other dragon riders looked with their dragons. The dragons had no luck picking up on any of the Thorston twins or Zipplebacks' scents either. Astrid and Snotlout turned in for the night, the two of them and their dragons completely exhausted and unable to muster anymore energy to go on anymore search parties. Hiccup, Hicca, Fishlegs and Raeda were still up with their dragons and continued their search. Without luck, they regrouped back at the Academy.

"Guys, any sign of them yet?" Fishlegs asked with a hopeful expression, despite the odds.

"Unfortunately not." Raeda answered.

"Same here." Hicca admitted

"None." Hiccup said. "The other riders have come in for the night. They're resting their dragons."

"I don't blame them. I mean, look at Meatlug. She's sleep-flying." Fishlegs said, looking at his dragon who was hovering in the air in her sleep while drooling out lava.

"Sparkfire isn't doing any better." Raeda said, looking at her dragon, who fell asleep as soon as they landed in the Academy.

"I got some provisions. I'm going back out." Hiccup said, walking to Toothless.

"Wait, what are you gonna do, fly all night?" Fishlegs asked in disbelief.

"If I have to, yes." Hiccup said.

"No." Hicca suddenly said, surprising the four teens.

"Sis?" Hiccup questioned.

"You can't go out there, Hiccup. Don't forget that there is still a lightning powered dragon out there on the loose. We were lucky in our last encounter. But you and Toothless won't be so lucky if you two run into the Skrill again, especially with the amount of metal you guys have." Hicca pointed out.

"I get that, sis, but I can't rest knowing the Thorston twins are lost out there somewhere. And knowing you, you definitely feel the same way." Hiccup argued.

"That is true." Hicca admitted. "That is why Midnight and I are going to out there and look for them _on our own_."

That surprised the other three teens even more.

"What?! Hicca, you going out there on your own _does not_ make me feel any better!" Hiccup exclaimed, his over-protective brother instincts kicking in. "We'll go together!"

"I know you're worried about me, but you need to think about this. Suppose you and Toothless do come with us. We might run into the Skrill again and you guys could hit this time. The lightning bolt will damage Toothless' prosthetic tail and you guys could end up crashing into the sea, or if you're lucky an island. And if it's the latter then you two might not be that lucky if you end up on Outcast Island again or Berserker Island or any other hostile island! Then Midnight and I will have to look for you two as well as the Thorston and we'll all be lost!" Hicca argued.

"Yeah, but… uh well…" Hiccup struggle to come up with a counter-argument. Deep down he knew his sister was making a smart choice, but that doesn't mean he has to like it! She could end up hurt! "What if you or Midnight get hurt!"

"I'm an aspiring healer. You know very well I never leave the house without a medical kit. I will be prepared for that." Hicca reassured.

"But, Hicca-"

"Look, bro, we can spend all night arguing back and forth about this or I can go with Midnight and find Ruffnut and Tuffnut before something happens to them or their dragon." Hicca said firmly, getting on her dragon.

"Wait Hicca, Raeda and I can come with you." Fishlegs offered.

"No, it looks like you dragons need some rest." Hicca said, looking at the still sleeping Meatlug and Sparkfire. "Plus, you two need to be here to make sure Hiccup doesn't come after me. I'll be fine."

"If you're not back here by sunrise, Skrill or no Skrill, I will come looking for you." Hiccup said, the tone of his voice leaving no room for argument.

"Fine, but don't you dare come without anyone else. Raeda?"

"I'll make sure of it." Raeda reassured.

"See you guys later." Hicca said. Midnight warbled at her mate and nuzzled his neck before she took off. Toothless and Hiccup stood and watched the two girls they cared about disappearing from their view.

Raeda walked up to Hiccup. "Don't worry, Hiccup. Hicca is more than capable of handling herself." She said, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"I know that, but still…" Hiccup said as he stared at the sky.

Hicca and Midnight flew far through the clouds, with Hicca calling out for Ruffnut and Tuffnut, but still no luck.

She sighed. "You'd think that with the Thorston twins we'd have a clear sign of where they are, but so far there hasn't been any signs of an explosion. Right, Hiccup?" She turned to the left, thinking her brother was flying by her side as usual. But when she the empty space, she suddenly remembered. "Oh, right. I made him stay behind." Hicca said, now to Midnight. "I gotta admit girl, it does kinda feel a bit weird flying without Hiccup and Toothless for so long." Midnight warbled in agreement, wishing Toothless was with her.

Hicca then shook her head. "But it's for a good reason. I just wished we could at least have a sign of where the Thorston twins are. We'd have a better chance of finding the Skrill than finding them."

An idea then came to her. "Wait! What if the Thorston twins went after the Skrill? It's worth a try, right? If we find the Skrill, then we might find Ruff and Tuff." She then looked up to the clouds filled with lightning. "Hiccup's not going to be happy that we're doing this, but he would do the same if he was here right now."

The girl and her Night Fury then flew through the clouds, hoping to find the Skrill somewhere there. There was a hindrance, however, when they started attracting lightning bolts thanks to Hicca's metal staff. "Okay, a staff make from Gronckle Iron is definitely not a good thing to carry in a situation like this." Hicca said as Midnight struggled to avoid getting struck by lightning. She flinched when another lightning bolt struck her staff, causing Midnight to swerve away. "Okay this was a bad idea. Midnight, get us out of here!"

Without any hesitation, Midnight immediately flew out of the clouds and zoomed to find an island for shelter. She did find one and Hicca easily recognised the island, unfortunately.

"Outcast island." Hicca said. Midnight gave a growl. There was absolutely _no way_ she was going to bring her human on that island. "I know, girl. I don't like it either, but we don't have many options right now. We need to lay low until the storm clears."

Reluctantly Midnight landed on Outcast Island. The two girls kept a sharp eye on their surroundings, as if they could be ambushed any second which actually could be a possibility.

"Let's not tell Hiccup about our little detour." Hicca whispered to Midnight as the quietly made their way to the Outcast Arena. As long as they were here, they might as well see what Alvin is up to since they haven't heard from him in a while which wasn't a good thing.

Once they reached the cliffs surrounding the Arena they looked at the inside of the Arena and saw many Outcasts soldiers gathered inside with Alvin the Treacherous in the center. Hiccas' eyes narrowed at that. "Seems a little late for Outcasts to be up and active don't you think girl?" Midnight warbled in agreement. "What are you up to, Alvin?"

"All I know is he's planning something big with that Skrill." A familiar voice said, coming to her side with a familiar Zippleback.

"What? How did Alvin get the-" Hiccas' eyes suddenly widened as she realised who she is talking to. "Ruff? You're... you're alive! Thank goodness!" Hicca said in relief as she saw Ruffnut, Barf and Belch. She then noticed Tuffnut wasn't with them. "Where's Tuff?"

"He didn't make it, Hicca." Ruffnut answered solemnly, looking down.

"What?!" Hicca asked in shock and disbelief.

Ruffnut then looked back to her with a mischievous grin. "Kidding! He's right behind you."

Hicca and Midnight turned around, but instead of seeing the blonde Thorston boy, all they saw was a tree.

"What's up Hicca?" Tuffnuts' voice asked, apparently coming from the tree. "Cool disguise, huh? It's kinda itchy."

"Uh, yeah. Not bad." Hicca said, wondering just how Tuffnut managed to get himself inside a tree.

"Yeah, yeah, Tuff hollowed out that tree so he couldn't be seen." Ruffnut explained. "Problem is he can't move."

"And I have bark beetles in my pants. I'm starting to like them." Tuffnut said. Hicca and Midnight grimaced at that. "Hey, fellas. A little to the left. Really scratch around down there. See what you can find."

"That is something I did _not_ need to hear." Hicca said with a shudder. "How did you guys end up here?"

"Alvin grabbed the Skrill out of the water. We decided to follow it." Ruffnut answered.

"Weird, right?" Tuffnut said

"No! Actually, you guys made a smart choice following Alvin." Hicca said, clearly impressed by the blonde twins

"We knew that. That's... why we did it." Tuffnut commented

Hicca and Ruffnut then brought their attention back to the Arena. "Okay. Let's see what Alvins' going to do with that Skrill." Hicca taking out her spy-glass. She watched as Alvin ordered his men to bring the chained up Skrill to the center of the Arena "Yep. There it is."

"Yeah." Tuffnut said, although he couldn't really see what was going on.

"This is definitely not good." Hicca commented

"No." Tuffnut echoed.

"We are in serious trouble." Hicca said.

"With a capital 'T'... no, 'S'." Annoyed at his commentary, Hicca turned to the tree Tuffnut was hiding in as the blonde boy continued to talk. "Wait, would you capitalize "serious" or "trouble"? Both?"

"Tuffnut, do you mind?" Hicca asked in exasperation.

"I'll shut up now." Tuffnut said, before quieting down.

Hicca looked back at the Academy and noticed some more people coming in. "Hang on." She brought out her spyglass again. She saw a very familiar old man joining the group down below. "Mildew." She hissed. When the Dragon Riders saw Mildew on the Outcast ship the day Alvin kidnapped Meatlug, it was clear that the old man was still working with the Outcasts and on his own free will. It didn't take long for Hiccup to realised that he'd been duped by Mildew back when he was kidnapped by Alvin and that the Outcast chief now knew some tricks on taming dragons. Hicca is not one to hate on other people, but Mildew is one of the rare exceptions.

She then saw some soldiers walking in, who weren't dressed in Outcast armour. "Wait a minute. Those look like Berserker soldiers." Then to her horror, she watched as Dagur the Deranged walked in a shook Alvins' hand. "Oh, no! Dagur! Dagur, Alvin _and_ the Skrill? This definitely does not look good."

Inside the Arena, the young Berserker chief watched the Skrill struggling in its' chains with awe and admiration. "The Skrill, dragon of my people." The Skrill then gave out a loud roar. "So beautiful! So supple! So furious!"

Mildew, however, wasn't so impressed by the dragon. "The only thing a dragon understands is a staff to the snout." With that, he raised his staff, preparing to hit the Skrill until Dagur stopped him.

"Touch him with that stick and I'll make you eat it." Dagur threatened, making Mildew lower his staff. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you? Because if you did, you'd have this dragon safely out of the storm."

"And why is that?" Mildew challenged.

"He draws his power from lightning…" Dagur informed him before he scrunched his nose in disgust. "...smelly old man."

Mildew scoffed at the fact. "Bah, that's nothing but an old dragon's tale."

As if to prove Dagurs' point, the Skrill started drawing lightning from the clouds, causing the soldiers standing near it to move away.

Dagur calmly step back, just before the Skrill struck Mildew with a lightning bolt. "Man, I love it when I'm right."

Getting struck by lightning seemed to have given Mildew the same effect Snotlout got; speaking gibberish.

Dagur then walked to the restrained Skrill, who has now been shoved into a cage. "Not to worry, baby." Dagur said, putting a hand on the snout as the Skrill glared at him. "When we get you all harnessed up, you'll be free to strike anyone you want. Or, more precisely, anyone _I_ want." He cackled.

Having overheard this, Alvin decided to step in. "Ah, the Skrill isn't yours yet, Dagur. You'll get your prize, but only after you fulfill the terms of our deal."

The Berserker chief simply stared at the Outcast chief before walking away.

"Remind me again why we're dealing with this lunatic." Savage asked Alvin in a low voice so that Dagur wouldn't hear.

"His knowledge of the Skrill and the size of his fleet." Alvin answered, also in a low voice. "We need both to make sure we reclaim Berk. After we have, we'll dispose of 'em all."

Hicca, Ruffnut and Tuffnut (who finally got himself out of the tree) watched from the cliffs. "We have to go down and find out what Dagur and Alvins' plans are." Hicca said to the Thorston twins "I can't go, they'd recognize me in a second. Ruff?"

"Outcast food gives me gas." Ruffnut said.

"What does that have to do with-" Hicca started to question before shaking her head. "Nevermind." She then turned to Tuffnut. "Okay, Tuff! Looks like you're up. You just need to go there, find out what they're going to do and get out of there without being seen."

Tuffnut was definitely ready for this. "Way ahead of you. I'll move like the wind." He started climbing down the cliff. "They won't even see me coming!" He suddenly slipped and fell, tumbling down the cliff while screaming. Hicca winced at that. So much for being sneaky.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Tuffnut landed right in front of an Outcast soldier guarding the Academy! "Oh! That was great!" Tuffnut groaned.

"Halt! What are you doing there? And who are you?" The Outcast guard demanded, pointing his weapon at Tuffnut.

"Who am I?" Tuffnut repeated, stalling as he tried to come up with a fake name. "I'm, uh… I'm Buffnut." He said getting up. "Yep! That's it! Berserker Buffnut 'BB,' they call me. Ol' Buffynut. I was sent by Dagur to check your defenses. Yep! I gotta check 'em out. See if they're strong."

Thankfully, the guard bought it. "Oh, yes! Yes, sir!" He said, straightening up. "I'm ready for anything."

Looks like Alvin needs to re-evaluate his soldiers.

"Okay. Good!" Tuffnut said, walking around the guard with his arms folded back. "Now, where's the big meeting? You know, the pow wow."

"You mean Alvin and Dagur?" The guard questioned in confusion.

"Did you seriously just ask me that, soldier?" Tuffnut challenged, step closer to the guard with a glare. "If you think I know the answer, you are sorely mistaken, mister. Did you just ask me that? I've forgotten."

The poor Outcast had no idea how to answer that. "Uh, so do you want to know?"

"Don't sass me!" Tuffnut retorted. "I'm still talking about whether or not you did seriously just ask me that!"

The guard decided to just give him the answer. "Alvin's throne room. Just opposite the harbor. They're celebrating the treaty, sir."

Tuffnut then stepped back, calming down. "Awesome. Ju... uh, just... uh, stand there, at attention. Straight... straight back." He said, making the Outcast stand straighter. "A healthy spine is a happy spine. My fine fellow."

"Yes, sir!" The guard said, maintaining his posture.

As Tuffnut walked away, the Outcast guard breathed a sigh of relief and slouched a little. 'Those Berserkers definitely earned their title. They are all insane!' The guard thought.

Tuffnut snuck into the throne room undetected and found Alvin the Treacherous and Dagur the Deranged sitting across from each other at a round table. "All right, Dagur. Let's talk strategy." Alvin said.

"Ooh! Strategy! Strategy! I love strategy!" Dagur exclaimed with crazed excitement. "You first."

"Fine. My fleet will lead…" Alvin started to explain, before Dagur cut him off.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. Let me stop you there, big boy." Dagur said, getting up. He then picked up a sword and swung it around. "Try this on for size. My fleet, led by the glorious Skrill, will lay siege to the dragon training arena…" He swiped his sword again. "Gah! and incapacitate Hiccup Hicca and their Night Furies. While you and your little fleet of rejects blockade their harbor."

Instead of getting angered, the Outcast chief simply chuckled. "I don't think so, Dagur."

That's when Tuffnut snuck in and spied on them. His eyes then widened when something caught his eye. "Whoa!" Except what got his attention wasn't Alvin or Dagur or any of the soldiers in the room. What caught his attention was the vast amount of food spread out on the table. He slowly made his way to the buffet while Alvin continued talking.

"First, I get Berk. Then, and only then, do you get the Skrill." The Outcast chief said firmly.

"Really?" Dagur challenged with a glare.

"Yeah." Alvin replied, returning the glare.

Dagur then had a look of nonchalance on his face. "Geez, Al. Don't get your skivvies in a bunch. Fine. We'll do it your way."

Giving one last glare to the younger chief, Alvin walked away. That's when Captain Vorg decided to approached Dagur. "Remind me why we're working with him again." The Captain asked his chief in a low voice.

"Because we want that Skrill." Dagur answered also in a low voice. "Once we have it, we'll dispose of him. And I was thinking, there are some really, really fun ways we could do that-"

The sudden smacking sounds caught Dagurs' attention as he looked around the room with a glare. "Who is smacking their food!" Dagur demanded. "I h-hate smacking! My father used to smack!"

His eyes found the culprit; Tuffnut. "Sorry. I hate it when my mouth does that." He said sheepishly, finding the food behind his back. He then pointed to his mouth. "Cut it out, mouth!" He then pointed to his nose. "Shut up, nose!" He gave out a nervous chuckle. "They don't like each other."

A second later Dagur held a sword inches away from Tuffnuts' neck. "Who are you?" The older teen demanded.

Tuffnut gulped nervously. "Uh, me? I'm, uh... I'm Buffnut. You know, Buffnut the Berserker." He answered.

Dagur raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're one of mine? What were you doing back there?"

Tuffnut struggled to find a good answer. "Uh, well, I was, uh, composing a poem in honor of your new deal with Alvin, and I got hungry, 'cause poetry is very exhausting. Geez, you gotta have a little something every six lines."

"A poem, eh?" Dagur asked intrigued, as he lowered his sword. "Let me hear it. If I like it, I won't chop your legs off. Now!"

That made Tuffnut even more nervous. Why did he had to say he was composing poetry? "Uh… Okay, yeah, definitely need those legs for the running and walking stuff." He stalled as he tried to think of a good poem.

 _There once was a village called Berk,_

 _Run by a big Viking jerk._

 _Blasting him would be thrilling, then you'd go a-skrilling,_

 _And show us how to be... berserk?_

Dagur paused as he thought about the poem. "I... would go... a-skrilling?" He said. He then gave out a laugh. "I like it! You can keep your legs! In fact, yak ribs and burly cakes for my friend, Buffnut!" He ordered another soldier for his new "friend". "But no smacking. I hate, hate smacking!" He warned.

The Berserker chief walked away, allowing Tuffnut to breathe a sigh of relief, happy that he got to keep his legs and eat more food.

Unfortunately that moment of relief was over when Mildew walked to the table for more food. He dropped his plate when he saw Tuffnut and the youngers' boys eyes widened when he saw the former Berkian man.

Mildew tried to alert the two chiefs about the spy, but he was still experiencing side-effects from getting struck by the thunder-bolt that he could only speak gibberish.

"Oh, what is your village babbler going on about now?" Dagur asked in annoyance.

Tuffnut shoved the old man out of the way as he tried to take the attention away from Mildew. "Uh, so did I mention how much I hate Berk? Hey, directions to Berk! North till you smell it, west till you step in it. Am I right, people? Come on." That joked caused everyone in the room, except for Mildew, to laugh.

The old man got up and tried warning everyone again, causing Tuffnut to shove him away again. "Great idea, babbler! A song! I should sing a song. So..".

 _Hooligan tribe, won't you come out tonight_

 _Come out tonight, come out tonight_

 _Hooligan tribe, won't you come out tonight_

 _Or die by the light of the moon_

 _Oh, by the light of the moon_

 _Oh, by the light of the moon_

 _Remember to use your fork and your knife_

 _And also use your spoon_

His distraction work as everyone continued to laugh. But it didn't deter Mildew as he tried again, only to have Tuffnut once again push him away. "Nobody likes a heckler."

Try as Mildew did, no one would listen to him as he continued to blather on in gibberish. Everyone ignored the old man and celebrated the new treaty with the Outcasts and the Berserkers. Making sure everyone was distracted, Tuffnut quietly snuck out and when back to the cliffs where Hicca, Ruffnut, Midnight, Barf and Belch were waiting for him.

"The plan is to smash those dirty Berkians to pieces with both fleets!" Tuffnut explained, clearly into his undercover role. "It's gonna be awesome."

Hicca just stared at the blonde boy. Clearly he forgot something. "Yeah, it would be awesome, except for the fact that we're the Berkians they're planning to smash." She pointed out.

"Oh, right." Tuffnut said. "Still gonna be awesome."

Hicca then got up and thought about the situation. "Two fleets and a Skrill are gonna be pretty tough to beat." She said to the blonde twins.

"No, Alvin has made it pretty clear. Dagur doesn't get the Skrill until after they destroy Berk." Tuffnut corrected "I think they have trust issues."

Hicca then got a thought. "Wait, what did you just say?" She asked.

"I said they have trust issues." Tuffnut answered.

"No, you said 'Dagur doesn't get the Skrill until after the attack.'" Hicca said, as an idea formed in her mind. "Don't you see? That Skrill is what's keeping the Outcasts and the Berserkers together. If we take away the Skrill, then we'll take away their alliance! And with no alliance, they won't invade Berk! Tuff, you need to go to the Arena and distract the guards. Midnight and I will free that Skrill."

"Uh, hang on a sec. I'm pretty sure Dagur threatened to cut my legs off." Tuffnut informed the two girls.

"So?" Ruffnut asked nonchalantly.

"Just wanted to get that out there." Tuffnut said. The two girls just stared at him. When he saw that the fact wasn't going to help him, Tuffnut got up. Ah, fine! I'm going. And my legs are on your head." He then paused and thought about his last sentence. "But not... I mean, not... you know what I'm saying. You'll be thinking about these legs if I... lose 'em."

The two teens split up with Ruffnut staying behind with Barf and Belch.

Midnight and Hicca slowly made their way to the Arena, being extra careful not to be spotted. They climb up on the roof of the Arena and looked down the entrance where they saw the guards knocked down. "Okay, not what I was expecting Tuffnut to do, but that works to." Hicca said to Midnight, impressed that the Thorston boy got the job done fast. The girl and dragon then made their way into the Arena.

Unbeknownst to Hicca, however, Tuffnut actually got side-tracked from his job when he met up with some soldiers from the feast. They encouraged him to tell them some more jokes about Berk, which Tuffnut was more than happy to do.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. I-I got another one." Tuffnut said to the crowd. "How do you get a one-armed Berkian out of a tree?"

"How?" The audience asked.

"You wave." Tuffnut said, waving his hand, causing the soldiers to laugh. "That's assuming that he isn't just sitting on a branch." He quickly added.

"Ah, you kill us, Buffnut." One of the Outcast soldiers said.

"Oh, stop!" Tuffnut said, swatting the air. "You... you guards... you guys are just saying that." He then thought of what he said. "I almost said 'guards.' Wait. Guards? Aren't I supposed to be doing something with guards?" He then remembered what he was supposed to do and immediately rushed out, much to the soldiers dismay.

"Oh, hey, don't leave!"

"Oh, tell the one about the Viking girl with the woolly igloo."

The soldiers called out to Tuffnut, but the Thorston boy paid no attention to them as he raced to the Arena, hoping he wasn't too late.

After making sure the coast is clear, Hicca and Midnight walked to the cage with the Skrill in it, only to be surprised to find that the door is opened and the dragon is gone. "What? Where'd the Skrill go?" Hicca wondered.

"Oh, good." Tuffnut called as he ran up to Hicca and Midnight. "I thought I was too late." Tuffnut panted. "Nice job with those guards, by the way. Didn't know you had it in you."

"What do you mean?" Hicca asked. "You _weren't_ the one who took out those guards? And where's the Skrill?"

The blonde boy looked at the cage and found it empty. "Uh-oh."

"Uh, yeah, 'uh-oh.'" Hicca said, getting a bad feeling.

"Well, if you don't have the Skrill, and I don't have the Skrill, then who has the Skrill?"

Suddenly the two teens and Night Fury heard shouts coming right outside the Arena. "Come on!" Hicca urged. She, Tuffnut and Midnight managed to hide just before the Outcasts soldiers came inside.

They too noticed the empty cage.

"The Skrill is gone! Sound the alarm!"

"Tuff, you go get Ruff." Hicca ordered. "Midnight and I are gonna try and find that Skrill before Dagur does." Though something told her that she may be too late for that, she was hoping she was wrong.

Hicca and Midnight flew into the air, while Tuffnut snuck out on foot. All three of them made it out undetected.

Hicca and Midnight flew the sea stacks surrounding the island and hid themselves behind one of them when they spotted a Berserker ship and an Outcast ship facing each other, each with their respective chief on board. "Going somewhere, Dagur?" Alvin demanded in a growl.

"I go where I want, Alvin." Dagur retorted.

"Not with our Skrill, you don't." Alvin said.

"It's not yours. It was never yours." Dagur informed the Outcast chief. "Hello! It's on my belt buckle. It's on my sail, my shields!"

"We had a deal, Dagur!" Alvin reminded the boy.

"Yeah, uh, about that deal, I just changed the terms." Dagur said with a smirk. He then brought out his sword and sliced a rope behind him that was a sheet up. That sheet dropped revealing the Skrill muzzled and tied up with two Berserkers on the deck, each holding a rope to keep the Skrill in place.

Alvin narrowed his eyes into slits and took out his own sword. He then jumped from the Outcast ship to the Berserker ship to face Dagur. "I'll cut you to pieces!" He roared. He struck Dagur with the flat part of his sword, sending the younger boy down.

"You'll try!" Dagur said, getting up. He was ready to fight.

The two chiefs then got in an intense sword-fight, neither one of them backing down so soon. While Dagur proven to be faster than Alvin, the latter has proven to be stronger and soon had the former pinned to his own mast by sword.

"Give me back my Skrill!" Alvin demanded.

"It was never your Skrill, Alvin." Dagur retorted. With that, he managed to shove Alvin back. "It's ours! It's always been ours!"

The two got locked in yet another intense sword-to-sword combat. Hicca and Midnight could only watch the fight unfold from the sea-stack they were hiding behind.

"Take that!" Take that Dagur exclaimed, sending a kick to Alvins' face. But Alvin was not one to give up that easily and fought back, disarming Dagur. He then swung the sword at Dagur, but the Berserker chief dodged each swing and rolled away.

"You can't run forever, boy!" Alvin said, glaring at the boy.

Dagur stood right where the Skrill was being held. Realising what their chief is planning to do, the two Berserker soldiers let go of their ropes, allowing Dagur to hold it instead and control the Skrill. "Oh, I think it's time you did some running."

He then yanked on the ropes, causing the Skrill to fire a lightning bolt at Alvin. The Outcast chief managed to dodge just in time, but Dagur continued to get the Skrill to fire at Alvin. Then one lightning bolt caused Alvin to jump off the ship and into the water."Whoa-ho-ho-ho." Dagur chuckled enjoying his new power. "Tired of running? Wanna try swimming? That won't work either."

He then gave a wicked grin as he got a golden idea. He yanked at the ropes again causing the Skrill to charge up. Realising what Dagur is going to do, Alvin dived deep under water, hoping to get to safety in time. The Skrill then fired another lightning bolt into the sea. The sea was filled with massive amounts of lightning coursing through. An attack of that magnitude would be difficult for Alvin or anyone to survive.

The Outcasts eyes widened as they looked for any signs that their chief may still be alive.

"Well, that takes care of that." Dagur said turning around. Several Outcasts soldiers then jumped aboard Dagurs' ship to attack him with Savage leading the group. Dagur calmly turned to the group "Savage, I have a one-time offer for you and your men." He said. "You can join me, or you can join Alvin. Your choice."

The Outcasts looked at the sea where dead fishes started emerging. The definitely did not want to end up there and if their chief is gone then they don't have to worry about him coming after them for switching sides. So they decided to stand by Dagur the Deranged, their new chief.

"Outcasts, Berserkers and a Skrill, all under Dagurs' control." Hicca said to Midnight. "Midnight, we need to stop them."

While Hicca thought over a plan to stop Dagur, the young Berserker chief was over-looking all preparations made for their invasion to Berk.

"The fleet is ready to sail to Berk...Sir." Savage reported.

"Excellent!" Dagur said smirking. "Now that this whole Alvin thing is behind us, we can lure Hicca, Hiccup and their Night Furies into battle!"

They were then taken by surprised when a plasma blast was shot near them, making them look up to the sky. "Why wait Dagur when you can fight half of that group right now?" Hicca called.

"Hicca." Dagur growled, glaring at the Haddock girl.

"I thought we could settle this like real Vikings, just you and me." Hicca challenged. "Unless you're scared you'll get beaten by a girl, _again_."

She succeeded in riling him up, as the deranged teen clearly accepted the challenge. "Sir, don't let her bait you. We have the advantage in numbers." Savage advised.

But that didn't work. "Just keep an eye on her brother and his Night Fury." Dagur ordered, shoving Savage aside.

He then brought out his most dangerous weapon; the Skrill. "Me and my Skrill against you and your Night Fury?" He tugged at the ropes, causing the Skrill to charge up. "I like those odds." He then yanked on the ropes, causing the Skrill to fire a blast at Midnight. "Take that!" Luckily Midnight dodged the blast and they flew off. The Skrill flew after them, carrying Dagur along as the Berserker chief held on to the ropes.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho!" Dagur taunted as he continued to make the Skrill fired blast after blast at the female Night Fury. Hicca and Midnight landed on the edge of one cliff, while the Skrill hovered making Dagur stand on the edge of another cliff facing opposite of the two girls. "Want to see superior warrior-ness? Just keep watching!"

"Really, Dagur? Cause I'm looking and I don't see any superior warrior-ness." Hicca retorted. She then saw her opportunity. "Midnight, plasma blast!" The female Night Fury fired at the Skrill, but it didn't have any effect with the lightning coursing through the wild dragons' body.

Dagur laughed at that. "That's it? Huh! I was hoping for something more challenging."

"Careful what you wish for Dagur." Hicca advised. Midnight fired some more plasma blasts at the Skrill, but again no effect.

Dagur tugged at the rope, making the Skrill charge up for one strong blast. "Your twin really isn't here, is he?" He suddenly asked. "There is no way he would wait this long to attack while you're facing the enemy." He then laughed like a maniac. "Oh this is priceless! Imagine his face when I invade Berk and tell what happened to his beloved sister! Any last words, Hicca?"

While he was talking, Hicca noticed Dagur stepped on a puddle of water. She smiled as she saw the perfect opportunity. When asked for any last words, she shrugged. "I got nothing. How 'bout you, girl?"

Midnight noticed the same thing her human did and responded by firing another plasma blast at the Skrill. This time it sent all the built up electricity through the ropes and straight to Dagur, electrocuting him. The contact with his feet and the water intensified the electrocution, causing Dagur to let go of the ropes. Dazed and completely out of it, the Berserker chief started blathering in gibberish, before he fell to the ground.

"And that puts an end to the Berkian invasion." Hicca said, grinning in triumph. But her moment of victory was short-lived when Midnight dodged another lightning bolt, from the Skrill. Finally free from restraints, the Skrill decided to let out all the rage he built up over the hours of being captured. And it looks like the dragon is going to take it out on Hicca and Midnight. "And brings us back to the Skrill on the loose problem." Hicca sighed as Midnight flew off, with the Skrill right on her tail.

Midnight raced through the ocean, hoping to shake off the Skrill. Hicca looked back and saw that they didn't have any luck. "We need to lose him." Hicca said to Midnight. The female Night Fury agreed. She then spotted an iceberg ahead and got an idea. "Actually, scratch that. We need him to follow us."

She then guided Midnight to fly in the direction of the iceberg with the Skrill close behind. Once the three of them got there, the Skrill fired a lightning bolt which missed Midnight and Hicca but hit a part of the iceberg, causing it to crash down. Both dragons avoided the landslide and Midnight continued to dodge more lightning bolts. That's when Hicca saw a cut at the glacier which looked big enough for Midnight and her to fit through. "There, Midnight! Go into the cut in the glacier!" Midnight dived into the cut with the Skrill following suit. The wild dragon continued to chase the Night Fury and the human through the tunnels until it reached a cavern. The Skrill looked around the cavern for the girl and the dragon until it spotted them. The dragon charged at them with full speed, only to slam into an ice wall!

"That'll teach you not to mess with a Haddock twin." Hicca said to the Skrill from the opposite side of the cavern, revealing that the wall the Skrill slammed into was actually showing a reflection of Hicca and Midnight. ( **A/N: Credit for that line goes to Arwen the Storyteller and Rachel who have both suggested similar lines in my reviews** )

The two girls flew out of the cavern through an opening from above. Midnight was just about to fire a plasma blast at the opening to seal the Skrill in when she was interrupted by a small and harmless explosion.

"Hey, why do you get to have all the fun?" Tuffnut called as he, Ruffnut, Barf and Belch flew to the scene.

"Yeah, this job was made for us."

"Be my guests." Hicca said as Midnight made way for the Zippleback.

Excitedly, Ruff and Tuff had their dragon fill the opening with Zippleback gas before sparking it, causing icy cold water to fill the tavern and seal the Skrill in an ice-block once again.

Hicca smiled as she watched the sun starting rise in the horizon, marking the start of a new day. "Guys, let's go home."

"Thought you'd never ask." Ruffnut said happily.

"I am gonna miss some of those Outcast guys." Tuffnut said as the three teens flew back to Berk on their dragons. "Thought they could really carry a tune."

"I know, right?" Ruffnut agreed

 _Hooligan tribe, won't you come out tonight_

 _come out tonight, come out tonight..._

"Uh, they could carry a tune, not you." Ruffnut commented.

 **A/N: Surprise! I bet you guys weren't expecting this chapter to be too different, did you? Hicca going on her own was an idea I had for a really long time that's why this chapter is one of my favorite chapters to write. I hope you guys liked it. I know there were some of you who wanted Hicca and Midnight to get captured by Alvin at the end of the last chapter, but I was already settled with my first choice. Hope this chapter makes up for that! Thank you again for your suggestions and I do try to incorporate them as much as I can.**

 **Also don't forget to vote on my poll. It's open until the end of 'Defenders of Berk'. Until next time!**


	13. The Flight Stuff

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 13: The Flight Stuff**

The Berk Dragon Academy was empty today. Ten year old Gustav Larson checked to make sure before bringing a sheep inside. "Come on, boy, let's fly!" He got on the sheep, who had fake wings taped to the side and a small flame-thrower tide on his back for Gustav to use. Ever since Gustav first saw the Dragon Riders flying on their dragons for the first time, the ten year old boy has always wanted to find his own dragon to fly around. Unfortunately his parents and the Dragon Riders won't let him have his own dragon, all of them feeling that he is too young for that. So the boy settled for the second best thing, a pretend dragon in the form of a sheep.

Gustav was enjoying his little pretend dragon riding as he shot flames in the air with the flamethrower while the sheep was running around the Academy. But the fun ended when Gustav accidently set some barrels on fire!

"Oh, no." Gustav said getting off the sheep. He ran to the fire and tried fanning at it to extinguish the flames, but no luck. "Oh, no. Oh, no. What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?" He asked frantically to the sheep, who merely bleated in response.

Help arrive when water suddenly splashed the flames, putting them out. Gustav turned to see Hicca and Raeda holding now emptied buckets. The two girls were accompanied by the rest of the Dragon Riders and dragons who have no doubt witnessed the incident.

"Gustav, how many times have we told you you can't play in here?" Hiccup said sternly.

"I'm not playing. I'm dragon training." Gustav defended.

"Ugh, poor kid. Ever since I let him into my inner circle, he wants to be just like his hero, me." Snotlout said with his chest out.

"Gross and annoying?" Astrid said rolling her eyes.

"No, a dragon rider!" Gustav said.

"Look around, kid. All of the dragon-riding positions are taken." Snotlout said to the younger boy. "So, unless one of us kicks the bucket, you're out of luck."

 _A Few Hours Later_

"I'm gonna kick the bucket!" Snotlout exclaimed in fear and terror.

The rest of the teens didn't seem to concerned. "Uh, Snotlout, do you mind?" Hiccup said. "We're having a Dagur meeting."

"Dagur's here?" Tuffnut asked as he looked around the Academy for said Berserker chief.

"No Tuff, we're having a meeting about Dagur." Hicca explained to the Thorston boy.

Snotlout ignored the two. "In the last week I've seen three of the five signposts to Valhalla."

"We know!" The seven teens said.

"You wouldn't shut up about it all week." Raeda said.

"You know? And you're just standing there talking about stupid Dagur?" Snotlout asked, unable to understand the concept. "One of your bravest and most treasured warriors is about to leave this world forever!"

"Look on the bright side. At least you'll be in eternal paradise." Tuffnut spoke up

"So will we." Astrid said happily.

Snotlout was not amused. "Joke all you want about me, but what about Hookfang? The thought of him without me for the rest of his life, it's just…"

"Are you done?" Hiccup asked, hoping his cousin was.

"No, not even close." Snotlout answered.

"Oh boy." Raeda said, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"Though devastated and still in pre-mourning, Gustav has volunteered to carry on the Snotlout legacy." Snotlout announced, putting a hand on Gustavs' shoulder as the kid came to his side.

"It's an honor." Gustav said, standing up straight.

"Please tell me he's not gonna fly around saying, 'oy, oy, oy.'" Astrid asked.

"That's a good idea. Gustav, make a note of that." Snotlout said to his protege, who nodded.

Hiccup decided to put an end to this."Snotlout, the five signposts to Valhalla is nothing but an old wives' tale."

"Oh, yeah? Then why have I seen the flying fish, the weeping rock, and the singing trees?" Snotlout challenged.

"You probably saw a salmon spawning, wet rocks on the beach, and a gust of wind." Fishlegs guessed.

"Besides, the five signposts to Valhalla are only supposed to happen to great warriors." Astrid pointed out.

"Obviously. What's your point?" Snotlout asked, not getting the insult.

"Even if it were true, which it is not, you can't just pick someone to replace you." Hiccup said.

"Well, you guys threw out my original plan." Snotlout said.

"To bury Hookfang alive beside you?" Astrid asked.

"It was a smart choice to make." Hicca said.

"He would gladly sacrifice himself for his beloved master. Trust me." Snotlout said, putting a hand on Hookfangs' snout. The Monstrous Nightmare merely snorted at his rider and walked away.

Hiccup decided to humor Snotlout. "Okay, let's just say, for argument's sake, you've seen three of the five signposts. It doesn't mean anything. There are still two left."

Suddenly a dead chicken fell from the sky and into Snotlouts' hands. The Jorgenson boys' eyes widened at this. "Aah!" He threw the chicken on the ground. "Oh, no! Oh, no! The fourth signpost... the bird of death!"

"Okay that was a little creepy." Hicca admitted.

"It's not the bird of death. It's just a dead chicken. It's not the same thing, right, guys?" Hiccup argued, turning to Ruffnut and Tuffnut for support.

The Thorston twins didn't give him any. "Sure it is. Definitely. Bird of death." The blonde twins said in unison.

"Really, you asked for their opinion?" Raeda asked Hiccup, raising her eyebrows. "The Thorston twins will call any animal a bird."

Snotlout then turned to Gustav. "We're on the clock, little man. We're starting your training immediately." That got Gustav excited. 'Finally! Real dragon training.'

Hiccup sighed in defeat. "Fine. The rest of us have to keep an eye on Outcast island." He and the rest of the teens got on their dragons. "While we're gone, try not to take anyone else with you to eternal paradise."

"I make no promises." Snotlout replied.

The seven Dragon Riders flew high up in the air over Outcast Island to avoid being seen. They managed to sneak on the island and hid themselves and their dragons out of plain sight. They watched as the Outcast and Berserker soldiers looked like they were working on something.

"I can't get a good look." Hiccup said, looking through his spy-glass. He gave it to his twin to use.

"Me neither." Hicca said, giving the spy-glass back to his brother.

"Well, they're building something, and I'm guessing it's not good." Astrid said.

"With Dagur in charge, definitely not." Raeda said.

"All right, I say we blow it up!" Ruffnut suggested.

"I say that's the best idea I've heard all week." Tuffnut agreed.

"Tuff, we've been over this. We don't shoot first and ask questions later." Hiccup reminded the Thorston boy

"Of course. We never ask questions."Tuffnut informed his co-leader.

"We can't do anything until we know exactly what they are working on." Hicca said.

"Hicca's right. We'll keep an eye on it." Hiccup instructed the others. "If it turns out to be something we have to worry about, then…"

"We blow it up?" Tuffnut asked excitedly.

"Oh god…" Hiccup groaned.

Back at the Academy, Snotlout started teaching Gustav about dragons. "Okay, pay attention, Gustav. This is a Monstrous Nightmare, the most lethal dragon in the known world. Not just anybody can handle one of these bad boys." Snotlout said, gesturing to Hookfang.

"Whoa." Gustav breathed in awe. The younger boy moved to pet the dragon when Snotlout stopped him.

"I'm sorry! I don't recall saying you could touch him." He said sternly. "Did I say that?"

"Uh, no." Gustav answered, backing off.

"The first thing we have to cover is the proper way to mount a dragon." Snotlout instructed. "This has to be done in a way that lets the dragon know who exactly is the boss!"

Snotlout demonstrated this by immediately jumping on his saddle and grabbing Hookfangs' horns. The boy and dragon duo then flew around the Academy a few times before landing again. Snotlout then got off, allowing Gustav to go next.

The younger boy took a deep breath. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got this." He then ran to Hookfang, planning to do what Snotlout did, until he tripped and fell to the ground. Hookfang decided to help the kid by picking him up with his mouth and tossing him on his saddle. They then took off, knocking Snotlout in the process.

"Okay, we'll work on that." Snotlout said, getting up.

After Hookfang did a few laps with Gustav, he landed and it was time for the next part of their lesson. "Eyes front, recruit! Now, pay attention to everything I say." Snotlout commanded Gustav, who was still sitting on Hookfang.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Gustav replied, sitting up straight.

By this time, the rest of the Dragon Riders came back from their recon mission and decided to watch the training from the stands. "This should go well." Fishlegs said to Hicca and Hiccup.

"I'm definitely going to enjoy this." Raeda said.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut came running to join them. "We're not too late, are we?" Tuffnut panted.

"Nope. Just about to get interesting." Astrid informed him.

"Oh, thank goodness. I hate missing violence." Tuffnut said as he and his sister took their seats.

"A Monstrous Nightmare in the hands of a capable rider, a la me, is a weapon of unmatched firepower." Snotlout explained. "It must be treated with the utmost resp…" He was interrupted when Hookfang fired at him for amusement, causing the boy to dodge. "Aah!" He face-planted on the floor and then got up. "We'll work on that, recruit! Was that fun for you?" He asked his dragon. Hookfang answered that question by firing at Snotlout again, causing him to dodge again.

Snotlout decided to move on with his lesson and brought to fishes, one for him to hold and one for Gustav to hold. "Okay, Gustav, feeding time is bonding time for a dragon and its rider, and this is how we bond." He turned to Hookfang and threw the fish at him. "Hookfang, eat!" The Monstrous Nightmare caught the fish in his mouth and ate it in one gulp.

"You're up, kid. Bring the heat!" Snotlout said to Gustav, standing in front of the younger boy. "Hookfang, eat!" Gustav threw the fish as high as he could, which wasn't very high due to his small height. The fish ended up on Snotlouts' helmet. That didn't bother Hookfang though, as the dragon took the fish and Snotlout in his mouth. "We'll work on that!" Snotlout said, his voice muffled.

After many disastrous training exercises (most of which ended up with Snotlout getting set on fire a few times) Snotlout gathered the rest of the teens in the Academy to give his 'goodbye'. "I know it's going to be hard on you all when I'm no longer here, especially you, Astrid." Astrid rolled her eyes at that. "But I don't want any tears. I want you to remember me with joy in your hearts. So, think of the good times we all had together." He then walked up to Gustav and Hookfang. "It is by the power vested in me that I hereby pass the Hookfang horns to Gustav. Go with Thor, little man, for he will watch over you... with lightning bolts and a giant hammer."

Hiccup decided to put an end to this. "Okay, this has gone on long enough. First of all, you are not dying!"

But Snotlout wouldn't hear it. "Shh, shh, shh, shh. Hiccup, it's okay. Denial is part of the grieving process."

Hiccup continued on. "Second of all, no one vested you with any power."

"No one." Tuffnut repeated.

"And even if they did…" Hiccup continued.

"Which they didn't." Tuffnut interjected.

"Gustav is in no way ready to be a member of this academy."

"No way." Tuffnut agreed.

"I agree with Hiccup as well. Gustav needs to be older and more responsible to be a Dragon Rider." Hicca said.

"Especially since we always go on dangerous missions." Raeda pointed out.

( **A/N: Thanks to Rachel from the reviews for the last two lines** )

"That's correct _,_ Hicca and Raeda _._ " Fishlegs agreed. "There's way more to being a dragon rider than feeding it and getting on its back."

"Neither of which he can do very well, anyway." Astrid commented.

"None of us are perfect, except for me." Snotlout stated. "Fishlegs is afraid of heights. The Thorston twins can't count past nine. Raeda is too protective over her artwork. Astrid has obvious anger issues, and…" He paused when he looked at Hicca and Hiccup. "Well, enough said."

"Ugh." Hiccup said in exasperated.

"I do not like what you were implying." Hicca said to Snotlout.

Snotlout then went to Astrid and held her hand. "Oh, Astrid, what might have been." The blonde girl responded by grabbing his arm and twisting it painfully. "I won't feel pain in Valhalla."

"Snotlout, for the last time, you are not going to Valhalla!" Hiccup exclaimed, his annoyance escalating.

"Runaway sheep!" Tuffnut suddenly called as he and his sister opened the gate, allowing a flock of sheeps to run to Snotlout.

"Why did you two open the gates?" Hicca asked the Thorston twins.

"'The shepherd's curse.' That's…" Fishlegs trailed off.

"The fifth signpost?" Astrid finished with a gasp.

"Oh, this cannot be happening." Hiccup muttered in disbelief.

"Aah! Avenge me!" Surrounded by sheeps, Snotlout started sinking to the ground preparing for his death. "Have lamb for dinner!"

Somehow Snotlout passed out then. The other teens managed to herd the sheeps back to their farm and came back to the Academy by the time Snotlout regained consciousness. "This is Valhalla? What a rip-off!" Snotlout said looking around him.

"Nope, still Berk. You fainted." Hiccup informed him.

"Good news is that it wasn't due to any major problem." Hicca said

"No major problem?! This is just more proof that my warrior's body is failing me." Snotlout snapped. "I don't have much time, Hiccup. You have to let Gustav take my place."

"Gustav is not taking your place." Hiccup said firmly. "He's not ready."

"Well, train me anyway." Gustav said. "Isn't that what you do here? I thought this was a Dragon training academy."

"Well, Gustav, this academy was born out of timing and necessity…" Hiccup tried to explain.

"I thought Stoick gave it to us and said it was 'just some dragon training academy.'" Tuffnut chipped in.

"That's not helping." Hiccup said, before turning to the kid. "Gustav, we learned to be dragon riders the only way we knew how, by doing. It was dangerous, foolhardy…"

"And awesome!" Ruffnut cut in.

"Still not helping." Hiccup sighed.

"What Hiccup is trying to say, Gustav, is that you need experience." Astrid explained.

"The rider needs experience. The dragon needs experience. And the rider and the dragon together need experience." Fishlegs said.

"When you find the right dragon, form the kind of bond we have with our dragons and proven that you are responsible enough, we we be glad to have you on our team." Hicca said.

"But that takes time. It's not something that can be achieved in less than a day. It certainly wasn't like that for any of us." Raeda pointed out.

Seeing that he wasn't going to win this, Gustav walked away from the Academy thinking about what the older kids told him. "Experience, huh?"

Snotlout turned to his dragon. "Sorry, Hookfang. I guess this means we're back to plan one. Ruff, Tuff, start digging!" That caused Hookfang to fire at Snotlout again, this time setting Snotlouts' pants on fire. The Jorgenson boy quickly ran to find water.

Meanwhile Gustav thought over what the Dragon Riders told him and came up with an idea. He will find his own dragon, bond with it and then show the teens exactly how capable he is on a dragon. Then they will take him for sure!

The boy took a satchel with him and went to the forest where there were different types of dragons. He looked around, hoping to find himself a good dragon.

"Terrible Terrors." Gustav noted, looking at one of the tiniest species of dragons. The boy was not impressed, there was no way he could ride on that kind of dragon "Whatever." Said dragons were not happy with his comments towards them and decided to teach him a lesson.

"Whoa! Aah!" Gustav yelled as he ran to avoid the Terrible Terrors.

He finally managed to shake them off and stumbled upon a Deadly Nadder. "Deadly Nadder." Gustav noted, remembering the dragon specie that both Astrid and Raeda ride on. He got closer to the dragon, considering the idea of riding a Deadly Nadder. He then changed his mind when the Nadder spotted him and, taking him as a threat, raised its' spike tail up, preparing to shoot at Gustav. "Too spiky." The boy screeched as he ran to avoid getting impaled by spikes.

He was a good distance away from the Nadder when he finally stopped. He then came across another very familiar dragon specie. "Monstrous Nightmare... the most lethal dragon in the known world." Gustav whispered as he saw the yellow and purple scaled Monstrous Nightmare, recalling what Snotlout told him during their brief training. "Not just anybody can handle one of these bad boys.I'm not just anybody!"

He decided to bond with the dragon using the lessons Snotlout gave him, which was definitely _not_ a smart move. He first tried to take control of the dragon by jumping on its' neck, the way Snotlout did with Hookfang. But the irritated wild dragon simply threw the boy of its' neck and growled at him.

Gustav then took the fish out of his satchel. "Okay, feeding time is bonding time. Bond with this. Eat!" He then threw the fish and it hit the Monstrous Nightmare in the face. But the dragon had no idea what the kids' intention was and took it as an attack. He roared at the kid, clearly not happy.

"Uh-oh." Gustav muttered. He then jumped on the dragons' neck again and the Monstrous Nightmare flew off, taking the kid with him.

And that is why Snotlout should never teach anyone anything about dragons.

Back in the Academy, the Dragon Riders were thinking of a plan against Dagur. "Okay, we're gonna need a diversion to get a closer look at whatever Dagur's building." Hiccup stated.

"The flaming funeral pyre on my flaming funeral pyre ship should do the trick." Snotlout suggested, still convinced he is dying.

Hiccup was about to say something to his cousin when his twin stopped him. "Don't bother, bro. Wait for him to figure it out himself." She whispered to him.

"We can't wait a year for that." Hiccup whispered back.

"Whoa, hold on, hold on." Tuffnut said as he and his sister climbed out of a large hole they built in the Academy floor. He turned to Snotlout. "I thought we were burying the two of you alive." He then sighed in annoyance that he and his sister dug a hole for nothing. "Fine, I'll start gathering wood."

"Yeah, and I'll start gathering pyres." Ruffnut said equally annoyed.

Suddenly the teens and dragons were all taken by surprise when a stray Monstrous Nightmare flew into the Academy haphazardly. The Monstrous Nightmare landed clumsily on the ground, accidently knocking the Thorston twins back in their hole.

"I, uh... I meant to do that." Gustav said, hanging on to the dragons' neck.

"Uh, is it me, or did a tiny little Snotlout and Hookfang just fly in?" Tuffnut asked as he watched the new dragon sniff around the hole he and his sister were still in.

"Gustav, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"And where did this guy come from?" Hicca asked, looking at the smaller Monstrous Nightmare.

"Well, you said you didn't have time to train me, so I found my own dragon and trained myself." Gustav explained, getting of his new dragon friend.

"Gustav, I'm not so sure we have the same definition of 'trained.'" Hiccup said.

"And I'm pretty sure I said training with a dragon can't be done in less than a day." Raeda pointed out.

"Look how he defies authority." Snotlout said with pride for his protege. "Hmm. I taught him well. Now I can go in peace."

"Quit getting my hopes up." Astrid muttered.

"Fellow dragon riders, I'd like you all to meet my dragon, Fanghook." Gustav introduced.

The Monstrous Nightmare growled at the others, having no idea why he got dragged into this.

"Fanghook? Are you serious?" Snotlout asked, not happy that Gustav stole his name for Hookfang. "Don't you have any respect for authority?"

"Gustav, we told you, there's more to being a dragon rider than just riding a dragon." Hiccup reminded the younger boy. "You have to form a bond, a friendship."

"We have it, test us. I'll prove it." Gustav said with confidence.

The Thorston twins supported that idea. "Test him! Test him!" Tuffnut chanted as he and Ruffnut pumped their fists up above the hole. "Test him, test him, test him, test him!"

Fishlegs then got an idea. "You know, it might not be the worst idea."

"No, I'm pretty sure it is the worst idea." Hiccup argued.

"Fishlegs, you know as well as the rest of us that suddenly having a dragon does not mean you're ready to be a dragon rider." Hicca said.'

"Think about it. Look at Snotlout." Fishlegs lowered his voice so that Snotlout wouldn't hear him. "Maybe he needs to see how easily he can be replaced."

Astrid, having overheard the idea, was onboard. "Enough said. I'm in."

"Let's not give Gustav too much false hope." Hicca advised the others except for Snotlout and the blonde twins (who were still in the hole) in a low voice.

Hiccup was also in agreement. "You know what, Gustav? You're absolutely right."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. He is?" Snotlout said in disbelief.

"Yes, he is." Hiccup affirmed. He then dragged his boot across the ground and made a mark. "Let's see you do a lap around the arena, and land on this mark."

Gustav was excited. Finally, he has a chance to prove himself. He got back on his dragon. "All right, Fanghook, fire it up!"

"Hmm, quite the stirring battle cry." Fishlegs commented.

"I like it." Rada said.

Snotlout scoffed. "Eh, it's all right." His chant was _much_ better.

The duo flew around the Academy, or at least tried to. They crashed into a wall during their flight and when they landed they crash-landed, completely missing the mark. Gustav immediately jumped up and held his chest out. "Dragon rider!"

"Wow. That was pretty good." Hiccup praised.

"Pretty good? Are you kidding me?" Snotlout asked in disbelief, wondering what is going through his cousins' mind. There is no way that flight was anywhere near good. They missed the mark!

"Is anyone else tired of listening to Snotlout's ghost?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yep." Raeda answered.

"Hey, I'm not dead yet." Snotlout said.

"You're dead to us." Ruffnut said.

For the next test, Hiccup and Hicca set up some targets in the form of wooden Outcast soldiers. Hiccup then got on Toothless. "Okay, bud, show them how it's done." Toothless fired three plasma blasts, each of them successfully hitting a target dead-on.

Hicca turned to Gustav and Fanghook. "Your turn." She gestured to the rest of the targets.

"Fire it up!" Gustav commanded. Fanghook fired all right, but he wasn't hitting the targets. He fired at Astrid, Raeda and the Thorston twins, who all managed to dodge in time. He then scorched a wall of the Academy.

Snotlout sneered at that. "Weak sauce... he didn't even hit anything."

"Well, that's not quite true." Hiccup said, pointing to a sheep who was still in the Academy. The sheep was running around with fire on its' tail, having got caught in the fire from Fanghook. Raeda quickly extinguished the fire and held the sheep in her arms.

"Bravo. You're all set for the next sheep rebellion." Snotlout said, rolling his eyes.

"But this time we'll win." Tuffnut said with confidence, not being sarcastic at all.

"Okay, if you guys are really serious about him replacing me…" Snotlout started to say.

"We're just following the last wishes of a legendary warrior." Astrid said.

"Besides, no need to replace you. You're already gone." Tuffnut said with a laugh. The blonde boy then put his hand on Snotlout stomach, thinking it will go through Snotlouts' 'ghost' body. It didn't. "I really... really thought that was gonna go right through him, you know, and I'd be able to tickle his back."

Snotlout replied with a punch to Snotlout before turning to the others. "Let's just see how he does on one of our obstacle courses."

For the obstacle course, the Dragon Riders, Gustav and the dragons all flew to the forest, the best place for an obstacle course.

Hiccup started giving instructions to Gustav. "Okay, on this course, you start at those big pines, and then you…"

"You blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." Snotlout interrupted in a mock tone, before turning to Gustav. "If you think you're good, kid, you'll keep up with me." This time Snotlout was going with Gustav to show the others that he is way better than Gustav and can not be replaced by the younger boy. "Fire it up!" With that, the older boy and Monstrous Nightmare flew off.

"Hey! You stole my battle cry!" Gustav complained before getting Fanghook to follow them.

Snotlout and Hookfang weaved through the trees, trying to find a route that would make it difficult for Gustav and Fanghook to follow. "Snotlout school in session, Gustav! And something tells me you're about to get expelled!" Snotlout to the boy behind him.

Gustav and Fanghook were doing a surprisingly good job at keeping up. "Hey, dead man talking!" The younger boy retorted. "I'm on you like an eel on a three-legged…" He didn't get to finish that as he and Fanghook suddenly crashed into a branch

Snotlout laughed as he and Hookfang flew to the younger duo. "You get a "G," as in 'fail.'"

Gustav glared at the older boy before he fell on his dragon and the ground and fell to the ground.

Everything went black for him.

The next time Gustav came back into consciousness, he was met with a bucket full of water that was splashed on his face, causing him to sit up right and cough.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ruffnut said to Astrid, who was holding the bucket. "Don't throw water on him! Tiny Snotlout will just shrink more... duh."

"How did I do?" Gustav asked.

"Well good news is, is that you're okay and there are no major injuries." Hicca informed the ten-year old.

"Bad news is you lasted about two seconds." Snotlout teased.

"But, hey, those two seconds... awesome." Hiccup said, sticking with the facade.

"And you definitely have the potential to improve." Raeda commented.

"I got to admit, you're gonna make a great replacement for Snotlout, Gustav." Astrid said.

"Says who?" Snotlout said, not believing what he was hearing. He then realised something. "Hey, wait a second. You're trying to convince me I'm not dying. What kind of friends are you?"

Hiccup decided it was time to level with his cousin. "Look, Snotlout, maybe you have seen the five signposts of Valhalla. And maybe you are going to die someday." He started to say when he noticed Snotlout scratching his butt. The Haddock boy huffed in annoyance. "And maybe you could stop scratching your butt while I'm talking to you."

"Sorry, it's just all this broadgrass in my shorts." Snotlout explained.

"Ugh! Did you have to tell us that?" Raeda asked cringing in disgust.

"And your shorts are full of broadgrass why?" Hiccup asked.

"More importantly, why aren't yours?" Snotlout replied. "The Thorston twins told me it prevents saddle chafing."

Hiccup then turned to the blonde twins, who were looking a little too innocent. "Oh, they did, did they?"

"That's funny cause just the other day I was with them when Raeda was explaining to them how much sheeps love broadgrass." Hicca said. She and her brother were starting to get the bigger picture.

"They also let the sheeps in. And I'm guessing you're also the ones who dropped the bird of death." Hiccup accused the blonde twins.

"We have no idea what you're talking about." Ruffnut said, though she and her brother were starting to get a little nervous. Suddenly a chicken dropped into each of the Thorston kids' arms, causing the group to look up and see Barf and Belch dropping chickens from above.

Realising they've been caught red-handed, the blonde twins quickly ran out of the Academy with the chickens still in their arms.

"Ah, oh. I get it." Snotlout said, although he actually didn't understand. "So this means... I give up. What does this mean?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "It means the twins were messing with you."

"And it was hilarious!" Raeda said with a laugh. She stopped when her two best friends gave her a look. "I mean it was wrong." ( **A/N: Thanks to snakescreamer for the idea** )

"Right, right. And…" Snotlout trailed, still not understanding.

"You're not dying!" Hiccup exclaimed for what will hopefully be the last time.

The light bulb in Snotlouts' head finally came on. "I'm alive? I'm alive! Oh!" He exclaimed, kissing his hands and muscles. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Thor! Snotlout's too beautiful to die, anyway."

Watching this made Astrid feel sick. "Ugh! And my lunch is in my throat."

"I think it was better when he didn't know." Raeda said.

"Wait. So this means I can't be in the academy?" Gustav asked dejectedly. "I just wanted to be a dragon rider so bad!"

Snotlout walked up to the kid. "On the one hand, I sympathize with your ruthless devotion to your goal."

"And on the other hand?" Gustav asked with a hopeful expression.

Snotlout just smirked at the smaller boy before tossing him out of the Academy.

"Snotlout that was harsh." Hicca chided.

Snotlout didn't pay attention to her as he was more focused on getting back at the Thorton twins for pranking him. The Jorgenson boy ran out of the Academy just as Stoick was walking in. "Kids, we need to talk." Stoick said to his children. "Trader Johann just got back from Outcast island. He overheard Dagur saying he's getting ready to test-fire some sort of new weapon."

"That must be what we saw him building." Astrid inferred.

"Hicca and I'll take a couple riders, and we'll get a closer look tonight." Hiccup said.

"All right, but don't engage the enemy." Stoick warned. "This is a scouting mission, not a battle mission."

What they didn't know was that Gustav was still outside the Academy and had overheard everything. "They may not engage the enemy, but we will, Fanghook." He said to his dragon. "And then they'll have to let us in." Fanghook simply took Gustav in his mouth, much like Hookfang does with Snotlout and flew off.

Inside the Academy, Hicca started walking off. "You guys go ahead, I'm going to find Gustav and make sure he's okay."

Hiccup nodded at her as she and Midnight flew out of the Academy. She used her spy-glass to look around and spotted Fanghook flying in the distance with Gustav still in his mouth. She and Midnight flew to catch up to them. The girls was as Gustav finally got out of Fanghooks' mouth and on his neck. He then surprised the two girls when he started flying after Hiccup, Astrid, Raeda, Snotlout and their dragons who have flown off to Outcast Island. Narrowing her eyes, Hicca had Midnight follow after the duo, hoping to stop them before they did anything dumb.

Gustav noticed the teen and her dragon after them and quickly steered Fanghook into some nearby sea-stacks. The younger rider weaved through the sea stacks hoping to be able to shake off the Haddock girl. No luck though as Hicca and Midnight stayed on the boys tail, although Hicca was very surprised at the way Gustav and Fanghook were able to fly through the sea stacks so smoothly. And speaking of the younger boy, he suddenly got an idea which made him direct Fanghook closer to the water. Midnight followed after them, as Gustav hope. The boy then got his dragon to dip his wings in the water, spraying Hicca and Midnight. Caught off-guard, Midnight halted as she and her rider tried to shake the water off them. By the time they opened their eyes, Gustav and Fanghook were gone.

'They didn't!' Hicca thought as she and Midnight flew off to Outcast Island.

The other four teens made it to Outcast Island and landed on a nearby sea-stack making sure to keep themselves hidden. They watched a group of Berserkers were gathered in one area. "There are a lot of Berserkers down there." Hiccup noted, looking through his spy-glass. He turned to Raeda, Astrid and Snotlout. "What's our diversion?"

"Allow me." Astrid volunteered.

One of the Berserker soldier standing guard had fallen asleep. He was suddenly jolted awake when Astrid and Stormfly flew by him. "Yoo-hoo!" Astrid called, getting the soldiers' attention along with the rest of the Berserkers there. Stormfly then flew off with the Berserkers chasing after them. "That's right! Follow me, boys!"

Dagur then came running to the scene. "What is it? What is going on?" The young chief demanded.

"A single dragon rider's been sighted, heading west!" Savage reported.

"Was it a Night Fury?" Dagur asked, hoping it was a certain female Night Fury. He was still mad at Hicca for taking his Skrill away from him and he wanted revenge.

"No, sir. It was the blonde girl." Savage answered.

"The blonde girl?"Dagur smirked, although disappointed it wasn't Hacca. "Oh, good."

Hiccup checked to see if the coast is clear. "Astrid's drawn them far enough away. Let's get down there and see what Dagur is up to." He then led Snotlout and Raeda to the area the Berserkers were standing by.

Savage was keeping an eye on the area until something, or someone, caught his eye. "Dragon rider, dead ahead!" He alerted

"Nobody move. This one is mine." Dagur said with an evil grin, looking at Hiccup. "You're so predictable, Hiccup." If he can't go after Hicca then he could do the next best thing, hurt her through her brother.

The three teens and dragons flew through the dense forest, being careful not to separate from the group.

"Hold. Hold steady." Dagur ordered his soldiers waiting for the right moment. He found it. "Now!"

A loud horn was heard, catching the three Dragon Riders and Dragons off guard, allowing the soldiers to fire flaming arrows at them

"No, it's a trap!" Hiccup exclaimed as he and the other two riders dodged the arrows.

"Yeah!" A voice hollered, getting everyones' attention. They all looked up and saw a smaller Monstrous Nightmare flying above.

"Who in the name of Thor is that?" Dagur wondered. He definitely doesn't remember seeing that kid and dragon during his previous encounters with the Berk Dragon Riders.

"Please don't tell that's…" Raeda trailed off.

"Gustav?" Snotlout questioned.

"Oh, great." Hiccup groaned. This is not going to end well.

The Berserker soldiers moved their attention to the two newcomers and fired arrows at them. "Fanghook, evasive maneuvers!" Gustav ordered. Fanghooks' agility allowed the Monstrous Nightmare to keep himself and his rider away from all the arrows fired at them.

The Berserkers then brought out a catapult and aimed it at the duo in the air. "No!" Dagur shouted at them, knowing what they were going to do. But the soldiers already fired a metal net which captured Gustav and Fanghook!

"Oh, no." Gustav muttered as he and Fanghook fell to the ground.

"Save it for Hiccup and Hicca! I want those Night Furies!" Dagur demanded. He was so distracted by the turn of events that he didn't notice the three Berk teens and dragons have gone into hiding.

"Okay, that solves the Gustav problem. Interested in a lamb dinner on the way home?" Snotlout whispered to the other two non-chalantly.

"Are you k-Snotlout!" Hiccup chided. "We have to save him!"

"And you're definitely going to help since you're the one who got Gustav into the whole dragon riding in the first place!" Raeda said firmly.

Snotlout sighed in defeat. "Fine!" He said as the three of them flew off after Dagur and the Berserkers.

In the distance, Gustav and Fanghook struggled under the metal net as the Berserker soldiers started surrounding them. They were forced back, however, by a plasma blast from above. Midnight and Hicca then landed and stood in front of the captured duo protectively, with Midnight growling at the Berserkers.

"Hicca!" Gustav exclaimed in relief.

"We are definitely going to talk about this later." Hicca said, giving Gustav a glance before turning back to the Berserkers.

Dagur stepped forward with an evil grin. "This just gets better and better. Ready the catapult!"

But Hicca and Midnight saw how the weapon captured Gustav and Fanghook and were prepared. The female Night Fury took off at high speed, the force knocking of Dagur, the soldiers and the catapult.

"Don't let them get away!" Dagur ordered. The soldiers quickly worked to set the catapult back upright. That's when Hiccup, Toothless, Raeda, Sparkfire, Snotlout and Hookfang flew in. The soldiers quickly turned the catapult and fired at Snotlout and Hookfang. Luckily, Toothless blasted it just in time.

Hiccup and Toothless stood in front of Gustav and Fanghook, while the other two riders helped Hicca and Midnight keep the Berserkers at bay.

"Fire it up!" Hiccup yelled.

"For the last time, that's my battle cry." Gustav said.

"I know. Now use it." Hiccup ordered.

Gustav caught on fast. "Fanghook, fire it up!" Fanghook lit himself up on fire, successfully getting himself and Gustav out of the net, albeit slightly burning Gustav. "Let's get out of here!"

The two boys took off. Hiccup signalled his sister, Snotlout and Raeda to fall back which they did.

But the Berserkers weren't about to give up yet. They got the catapult ready once again and fired. This time they succeeded in capturing Hiccup and Toothless!

"Got ya!" Dagur smirked in triumph.

"HICCUP!" Hicca exclaimed in horror.

"Oh no!" Raeda exclaimed. She and Hicca flew back for Hiccup

"We're on our way, Hiccup!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Come on, Gustav, we're going down there."

"No way. I'm getting out of here." Gustav said as he turned Fanghook away. All of this was definitely too much for the little boy. When he wanted to join the Dragon Riders, he never thought it would be this scary.

"You're not going anywhere. You wanted experience. This is how you get it." Snotlout stated as he moved Hookfang in front of Fanghook, preventing them from leaving.

"I don't know, Snotlout. I don't think I can do this." Gustav said nervously.

"Listen to me, kid. You're flying the Monstrous Nightmare, the most lethal dragon in the known world. You can do it, and you will do it."

On the ground, Sparkfire and Midnight fought to keep the Berserkers away from Hiccup and Toothless and to protect their humans from the flaming arrows. But the dragons and humans were so focused on attacking and avoiding the arrows, they didn't notice the catapults until they all got captured.

"Got you guys now!" Dagur exclaimed in triumph.

Looking at what was happening, Gustav looked back up to Snotlout, determination filling his eyes. "You know what? I will do it."

On the ground the three captured teens and dragons struggled against the net as the Berserkers surrounded them. Dagur came to them and brought out his sword. He walked to Hicca ready to get revenge for the lost Skrill when he was suddenly by two voices.

"Fire it up!" Snotlout and Gustav both yelled in unison. Hookfang and Fanghook fired at full power at the Berserkers, causing them to run away and at the nets freeing the captured teens and dragons. The two Monstrous Nightmares then fired at the catapult, destroying it completely.

This gave the Dragon Riders the opportunity to escape and Dagur could only watch as he lost to the Berk kids once again.

"My plan was perfect! I had the Night Fury in my clutches. Why didn't it work? Why, why, why?" Dagur demanded.

"Uh, sir, I think the problem may have been in the, um, execution." Savage suggested meekly.

"Execution. Did somebody say 'execution'?" Dagur said with an evil grin. He looked at his soldiers and drew out his sword. "Now we're getting somewhere." The Berserkers exchange nervous glances as Savage mentally regretted his wording.

"We would have been done for if it wasn't for you guys, thanks." Hicca said to Gustav and Snotlout.

"Yeah thanks, guys. Nice shooting." Hiccup praised.

"I got to admit, I'm impressed." Raeda said.

"The shooting was by me. Gustav closed his eyes." Snotlout stated.

"Hey, it was scary." Gustav defended causing the others to laugh.

They found Astrid and Stormfly and got back to Berk and immediately reported to Stoick.

Stoick listened to the whole story, giving a disapproving look to Gustav for sneaking there and worried looks to Hicca and Hiccup when he found out they got captured. He spoke up when they finished. "So there was no secret weapon being test-fired?"

"No, it was all a trap." Hiccup informed him. "Dagur must have intentionally leaked the information to Trader Johann."

"Knowing that Trader Johann would tell us and that we would be curious enough to go to Outcast Island and spy on them." Hicca added.

"Ah, he's as crafty as he is crazy." Stoick admitted. "Well, I'm glad you're all safe." With that he left the Academy to attend to his other chiefly duties.

"So I guess I'm not in the Dragon academy, huh?" Gustav said looking down. Although he was a bit scared after the encounter with the Berserkers he did felt more confident after rescuing Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda and their dragons. By the boy knew well that he wasn't ready to join them yet.

Hiccup gave Gustav a sympathetic look. "I'll tell you what, Gustav." He said. "How about we make you our very first junior apprentice auxiliary reserve backup replacement rider?

"In training." Astrid added.

"Fourth-class." Snotlout added holding three fingers up.

That cheered up Gustav. "Yes!"

"You realize, however, that means you have to study." Hiccup stated.

"Got it!"

"Clean out the dragon stalls." Fishlegs added.

"Check!"

"Take lessons from someone who is _not_ Snotlout." Hicca said.

"Hey!"

"Will do."

"And no more unauthorized dragon flying. Neither of you are ready." Hiccup said firmly, looking at both Gustav and Fanghook.

"I understand." Gustav said, nodding his head.

It was now time for Gustav to say goodbye to Fanghook. The two of them along with Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight, Snotlout, Hookfang and Toothless went back to the place in the forest where Gustav first meet Fanghook.

"Go on, Fanghook! Be free!" Gustav said sadly to his dragon friend. But the smaller Monstrous Nightmare was a bit reluctant to leave. The two of them might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but the dragon has started to form a bond with the younger boy after their adventure on Outcast Island and he wasn't ready to let go of that yet.

"Go on! I said go already!" Gustav said more forcefully, Pushing Fanghook off. The Monstrous Nightmare walked with one glance back to his rider, who was looking down.

Hiccup put a comforting hand on Gustavs' shoulder when the dragon disappeared from view. "I know that was hard, but it was the right thing to do."

"I know." Gustav said in a quiet voice.

Snotlout chuckled. "And you two thought he could replace me?"

"Uh, no one can replace you." Hiccup said, decided to humor his cousin.

"You are definitely one of a kind." Hicca said.

"And don't you forget it." Snotlout said as he and the other two teens got back on their dragons

"You coming, Gustav?" Hiccup asked.

"No, I just want to be alone for a minute." Gustav said, still looking off to where Fanghook went.

Hiccup and Hicca gave the younger boy sympathetic looks before flying off with Snotlout.

Gustav looked to where the three teens flew off. He waited until they disappeared from view before giving a whistle. Fanghook then came out of his hiding place and joined Gustav. It turned out, their little 'goodbye' was just an act! "Fanghook! So what should we practice today?" Gustav asked. The dragon responded by taking his rider in his mouth again, causing Gustav to just laugh.

It was a start of a beautiful friendship.


	14. Free Scauldy

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon except for my OC's**

 **Chapter 14: Free Scauldy**

With the Screaming Death still out there and still a threat to Berk, the Dragon Riders decided to split up into two teams and track the Screaming Deaths' whereabouts. Hiccup, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were one group while Hicca, Raeda, Astrid and Snotlout were another. However, for the former group the task of tracking down the Screaming Death was hindered thanks to two certain teens.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had no understanding of 'keeping a low profile' and were screaming as they had Barf and Belch perform crazy stunts.

"Guys, can you please put a lid on it? Looking for the Screaming Death, low profile, remember the meeting?" Hiccup reminded the blonde twins.

"Yeah, but we had our own meeting." Tuffnut informed him. His attention was then diverted. "Oooh, dangerous pointy rocks." He and his sister then directed their dragon to said rocks.

"How did we get stuck with these two?" Fishlegs asked Hiccup, getting as annoyed as the Haddock boy was.

"Well, it was either them or Snotlout" Hiccup answered.

"Hmm, pointing taken." Fishlegs agreed. As much as he didn't like the Thorston twins recklessness, the Ingerman boy would prefer them over Snotlout anytime.

Meanwhile the other group seems to be having problems of their own.

"Okay, nothing unusual on Dragon Island." Astrid stated as she and the other three flew above said island on their dragons. She turned to look at the others when she caught Snotlout staring at her. "Hey, the island is down there." She said to him, getting annoyed.

"But, your eyes are up here." Snotlout replied, leaning against Hookfangs' horns. He continued to stare at Astrid with a smug smile.

"What? What is it?" Astrid demanded, getting more annoyed.

"I just find it interesting that you choose me to be your partner on the Screaming Death patrol." Snotlout stated.

"Firstly, it's not just the two of us, Hicca and Raeda are with us." Astrid countered, pointing to the two girls flying ahead of them. "And secondly, Hiccup and Hicca were the ones who chose the groups and Hiccup got first pick and second pick."

But Snotlout wasn't deterred. "Hey, if that what need to believe keep telling yourself that. But I think you're secretly happy that we've been put together."

Astrid rolled her eyes and had Stormfly fly faster to catch up to Hicca and Raeda.

Snotlout watched as Astrid flew away from him. "I think she's digging me." He said to Hookfang. What do you think?" Hookfang merely snorted at his riders' clueless before deciding to dive down, taking Snotlout by surprise.

Hicca sighed in annoyance and put a hand to her forehead. She and Raeda overheard the whole thing and sadly that was something they had to endure since the start of their search. "Next time, I'm going to pick the teams." She said to Raeda.

"You better. I would have thought Hiccup would have learned by now not to put Astrid in the same group as Snotlout, but apparently I was wrong."

Hiccup and his team reached Changewing Island.

"Oh, great Changewing Island." Fishlegs groaned. Memories of their last encounter with the Changewings still haunts the Ingerman boy, especially the part when he was face to face with not one but _three_ Changewings. He definitely does not want to relive that experience.

Hiccup turned to others, specifically Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "Okay guys, quick reminder; island full of ill-tempered, highly territorial and virtually invisibly dragons." He warned.

"So we should buzz them up." Tuffnut said excitedly, missing the warning.

"Really rile them up." Ruffnut agreed. The two adrenaline junkies were definitely ready to cause some trouble.

"I was thinking more of the lines of keeping our distance." Hiccup said.

"I like the sound of that." Fishlegs agreed. There was absolutely no way he wanted to revisit the 'Changewing Debacle'. They suddenly heard a roar in the distance. "I do not like the sound of that."

Unfortunately for him, his leader is too curious for his own good to let it go. "Me neither, but we have to check it out." Hiccup said, before he led the others to the source of the roar.

"Whatever happened to the 'keep our distance policy'?" Fishlegs complained as he and the Thorston twins followed their leader.

The four teens and dragons followed the sound of the roar and to their, surprise found a Scauldron on the shores of Changewing Island.

"Whoa! That's a Scauldron." Hiccup said in shock.

"What's it doing on land?" Fishlegs asked confused. Scauldrons generally prefer the ocean and are rarely seen on land for a long period of time.

"Catching some rays." Tuffnut suggested.

"Taking some alone time." Ruffnut piped in.

"Lucky dragon." Tuffnut muttered. He could also use some alone time.

The Scauldron then looked up and saw the Dragon Riders. Fishlegs definitely did not like the way the sea dragon was staring at them. "Or maybe it's waiting for some unsuspecting dragon riders to get too close to it so that it can blast them with scalding hot water." He said nervously.

But Hiccup could sense that something was wrong with the dragon. "Actually, I think it maybe hurt." He got a closer look at the dragon and discovered that its' wings were pinned to the ground by boulders. "Let's check it out."

They landed near the Scauldron, being sure to keep a safe distance just in case.

"Whoa, he is huge." Tuffnut said in awe as he looked at the Scauldron.

"He could eat me in like in one bit." Ruffnut commented.

That gave Tuffnut a mischievous look in his eyes. "Let's see." With that, he shoved his twin closer to the Scauldron. Luckily for Ruffnut, the Scauldron merely hissed in her presence and did nothing else. Tuffnut was laughing at his own antics until, Ruffnut kicked him in the chest. "Or maybe not." He wheezed out.

Fishlegs scanned the area and noticed something. "Hiccup, look." He said getting the Haddock boys' attention. He pointed to some fallen boulders and trees that were scattered about. "There must have been an earthquake and before he could get back into the water his wing got pinned." The group watched as the Scauldron continued to tried to free itself from the boulders but with no luck.

Suddenly the sun was shining bright at them, causing Hiccup to cover his eyes as he looked up at the sky.

"A Tidal Class dragon can't stay out of the water very long. If his skin dries all the way out…" He couldn't finish that sentence and he didn't need to. Fishlegs gulped as he knew exactly what Hiccup was trying to say. "We have to help him." He said with determination.

He started walking to the Scauldron when Fishlegs stopped him.

"Perhaps I need to remind you." Fishlegs pointed to the Scauldron. "Scauldron and boiling death that way." He then pointed to the forest. "Changewing and acid-spitting invisible death that way."

He jumped when the trees around him started shaking on its own. Thinking a Changewing was nearby, Fishlegs shrieked and ran to Meatlug for safety. That's when the real culprits revealed themselves, the Thorston twins.

Come on out, Fishlegs. It's just the Thorston twins." Hiccup said.

"How do you know that we're not a Changewing disguised as us?" Tuffnut asked as he and his sister came out of their hiding spots.

"Guys, come on, we need to find a way to free that Scauldron. We can't just leave him without trying." Hiccup said.

"Uh, sure we can. We have dragons we can just fly away." Tuffnut said.

Toothless walked to his humans' side and nuzzled him, showing his support. "You guys keep an eye out for Changewings. Toothless and I will see if we can help him." He said as he and Toothless carefully made their way towards the Scauldron.

"Yeah, feel free." Tuffnut said, happy that he wasn't the one walking towards the Scauldron.

"Knock yourself out." Ruffnut added.

"Yeah, dibs on Toothless if you don't make it back." Tuffnut declared.

Toothless gave the Thorston boy a look that said 'that is not happening'.

As the duo walked closer to the Scauldron, the tidal dragon narrowed its' pupils into slits and hissed at them in a warning tone. It was clear that the dragon didn't trust any of the teens or dragons. Toothless growled back at the Scauldron, not liking its' behaviour, but Hiccup calmed him down.

"It's okay, bud, I'll be fine." Hiccup reassured. He then walked closer to the Scauldron and raised his hand up to try to form a connection with the trapped dragon. "Hey, pal. Who'd you get yourself into this mess?" The dragon hissed at him again, causing Hiccup to back away slightly. "Okay, that's not really important. Uh, what is important is us getting you out of here. So, what do you say?"

Instead of easing up, like Hiccup had hope, the Scauldrons' neck started to expand. Hiccup knew from experience what the Scauldron was about to do and backed away immediately. He and the others dove for cover just in time as the Scauldron sprayed out boiling hot water at them.

Hiccup came out of hiding from the boulders as soon as the Scauldron stopped. "Okay, not the answer I was looking for." He turned to the others, who were hiding in the boulders behind him. "Gang any ideas?"

"I have an idea." Tuffnut chimed in. But it wasn't an idea Hiccup was hoping for. "Wouldn't it be great if bread came already sliced? Then you could enjoy it a little bit a time."

Ruffnut was the only one who liked that idea. "Think of the sandwiches you could make."

"Guys, please can we focus. Scauldron." Hiccup reminded them pointing to the still-trapped dragon.

"I say we just blast those boulders off his wing." Tuffnut suggested.

"That's too big a risk. We might hurt him more." Hiccup said as he walked towards them.

"Okay, what if we just blast those boulders of his wing?" Ruffnut said, repeating her twins' suggestion.

Fishlegs and Hiccup just gave her a look before ignoring her.

"We need to let the Scauldron know we're friends." Hiccup said.

"Maybe if we got him wet it might care him down." Fishlegs suggested.

"Yeah, it's worth a try." Hiccup said, happy to have finally been given a good idea.

"Or we could blast—" Tuffnut was about to suggest before Hiccup covered his mouth.

"Don't say it." Hiccup said.

Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut then got on their dragons and brought buckets filled with water for the Scauldron. Hiccup and Toothless stayed on ground, ready to go to the Skrills' aid when it's calm.

"Now!" Hiccup ordered as soon as the other teens were above the Scauldron.

"Bath time get your leather ducky's ready." Tuffnut called to the Scauldron as they descended.

But the Scauldron still didn't trust any of them and ended up whacking Barf and Belch away with its' tail. The Zippleback collided into Meatlug, sending all three teens and dragons to the ground with the water from the buckets falling on them instead of the Scauldron.

"Okay, so, the idea was to get the dragon wet." Hiccup sighed.

"On the upside being wet has made me feel calmer." Fishlegs piped in.

"It just made me feel wetter." Tuffnut commented.

"So what next?" Fishlegs asked getting up.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions." Hiccup said.

"Well—" Tuffnut began to say.

But Hiccup had a feeling he knew what Tuffnut was going to suggest. "That doesn't involve blasting boulders off of wings."

"Neither mind." Tuffnut said.

Hiccup then looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs?" He asked, hoping that the Ingerman boy could come up with a good plan.

Unfortunately Fishlegs couldn't. As much as the blonde boy wanted to help any kind of dragon, even one that is as hostile as the Scauldron, he just couldn't come up with a way to earn the dragons' trust "If it won't let us help him then what can we do?"

"There has to be something." Hiccup said, not wanting to give up. He looked at the Scauldron, who gave out another hiss before slumping to the ground in defeat.

Fishlegs really didn't want to admit it, but he knew there was only one thing they could do. "Hiccup, you know how I feel about dragons, but a wild Scauldron is...it's well...it's about as wild as it can get." He said. "Maybe-maybe this is just one of those times when nature has to take its course."

"You mean when I had to drink that sour yak milk and gave Ruffnut the smoky Viking?" Tuffnut asked.

"He means if the Scauldron won't let us help him. Well, there's nothing more we can do without endangering ourselves or our dragons." Hiccup said, in defeated. He couldn't bear it, but Fishlegs was right. If the Scauldron refused to let them help him then there was no way they could free him without one of them getting hurt. Still didn't make him feel better knowing that they were about to fly away from a helpless dragon. If his twin was with them right now, she would be fighting tooth and nail for them to stay and help the dragon, but he couldn't argue with the facts.

Even the Thorston twins got serious as they all watched the dragon, possibly for the last time. Sure the twins goof off almost all the time, but they still care for dragons as much as the other teens do. Even they couldn't think of leaving the Scauldron like this.

Reluctantly the boys started walking to their dragons, getting ready to fly off and go back to their mission. Ruffnut stayed for a few seconds more, looking at the dragon before joining her brother.

"I'm sorry." Hiccup said remorsely to the Scauldron as the dragons hovered in the air.

But the dragons took one look at the Scauldron and then surprised their riders. They flew back down and stayed firmly where they were.

"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked.

"What's wrong, girl? What is it?" Fishlegs asked his dragon. The boys both tried to get their dragons to fly but with no luck. Fishlegs then turned to Hiccup. "I don't think the dragons want us to leave either."

It was true, although the Scauldron was aggressive to them and their humans, the dragons still saw the Scauldron as one of them. There was no way they were going to leave the dragon.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut were not about to give up. "Just show them who's the boss is. Watch and learn." Tuffnut said. With that, He and his twin thug on their dragon to get him to fly, but Barf and Belch responded by flinging their riders of their necks. Tuffnut landed on a boulder while Ruffnut landed on a spot right in front of the Scauldron!

"Hey." She said nervously to the dragon as she slowly got up. The Scauldron then roared at her.

"Ruffnut, do not move." Hiccup instructed.

"For the first time in my life, Hiccup, you have my full attention." Ruffnut said quietly, giving him a glance before facing the Scauldron with the most caution she has ever given in her life.

The Scauldron then moved his head closer to Ruffnut, who inched back just a little. Tuffnut was getting up from the boulder, only to be pushed back down by Barf and Belch. The Zippleback then charged at the Scauldron, ready to rescue one of their human.

The Scauldron immediately fired a stream of hot water, avoiding Ruffnut, at the Zippleback, stopping them in their tracks. Hiccup and Toothless then landed next to them.

"Whoa, guys! She's alright." Hiccup reassured the Zippleback trying to calm them. The last thing they needed was a fight on Changewing Island.

Then, to everyones' surprise, the Scauldron started sniffing Ruffnuts' hair.

"What's he doing?" Fishlegs asked in confusion.

"I think it's smelling her." Hiccup said getting off of Toothless. He was equally confused

Tuffnut found this funny. "Hey, Ruffnut looks like you finally got a date that's as ugly as you." He taunted.

"Maybe he's finally going to let us help." Hiccup guessed. He and Fishlegs started walking closer to the Scauldron.

But the Scauldron growled at them again as he prepared to fire another stream of boiling hot water at them.

"Or not." Fishlegs said. The boys immediately stopped and backed away.

That calmed the Scauldron down and it continued to sniff Ruffnuts' hair.

"What is it about her hair that the dragon likes too much?" Hiccup wondered.

"Maybe it's the colour of his mother's hair." Fishlegs suggested nervously, still scared at the fact that he almost got sprayed with boiling hot water. Hiccup and Tuffnut gave him a look as the Ingerman boy realised what he just said. "That doesn't make any sense does it? Sorry I'm still terrified from what just happened."

"Why would anyone like her smelly old hair?" Tuffnut asked as he sat down on the boulder he landed on. "It's full of fish oil."

Hiccup then looked at Ruffnut, wondering if that fact was actually true. "Ruffnut, do you put fish oil in your hair?" He asked.

"Duh, how else do you think I get this greasy unwashed look?" "Ruffnut answered.

"I'm not going to pretend to understand that." Hiccup said to Fishlegs.

"No, no, no it makes sense." Fishlegs said, getting the idea. "Scauldrons are ocean dwelling dragons. Maybe the smell of fish reminds him of home."

"If the smell of Ruffnut's hair keeps that dragon calm, gang that's our way in." Hiccup said, his mind now forming a plan.

Meanwhile, Hiccas' team were on a sea-stack waiting for the other team to join them. Hicca and Raeda were resting against a boulder while Astrid and Snotlout were standing. Their dragons were resting after a long flight. "Hiccup's late for another rendezvous. What a surprise." Astrid sighed.

"How much do you want to bet the others got themselves into trouble again." Hicca said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that happened." Raeda said.

"You don't see them do you?" Astrid asked, turning to Snotlout. She jumped back in shock when she saw the Jorgenson boy just a few centimetres away from her face.

"All I see is that we're alone. Again." Snotlout said to her. "Coincidence, perhaps."

"Hello, right here." Raeda said waving her hand around.

"Not exactly alone." Hicca said.

Snotlout ignored them and continued to stare at Astrid. "Had to happen eventually, babe. Every week we face Berserkers, Outcasts, Screaming Death. The danger was bound to bring us together, Astrid."

The blonde shield maiden rolled her eyes and walked away from him before she did something she would regret (or probably not). "You've been flying in the thin air again haven't you?"

Snotlout then took her hand in his. ""Life is so fragile like your-" He was cut-off when Astrid twisted his arm painfully.

"And so is your arm." Astrid said, making some distance between herself and him.

"I think before we need to rush Snotlout back to the Healers' Hut on Berk, we should go look for my twin and the others." Hicca suggested.

"Good idea." Astrid said, grateful for the chance to distance herself away from Snotlout.

"Ha, I get it you don't trust yourself alone with Snotlout." Snotlout said getting up, before Astrid threw a rock at him, knocking him back down. Astrid then got on Stormfly and took off before Snotlout could say anything else.

"Seriously, what are we? Chopped liver?" Raeda asked as she and Hicca got up.

"Let it go, Rae. Be grateful he's not giving you any attention." Hicca advised.

"Good point." Raeda said.

Snotlout watched Astrid flying away from them as he got on Hookfang.

"Oh she's just playing hard to get. Secretly she can't resist me." Snotlout boasted to the two other girls with complete confidence.

Raeda decided, instead of arguing with him or responding with sarcasm like she usually does, to humor him just this once. "Of course, Snotlout. You're a big, strong viking man. How can anyone ever resist you?" With that she blew him a kiss in a mocking way.

But Snotlout didn't think she was joking. Instead he just looked at the Henderson girl weirdly before shuddering. "D-don't ever do that again. That was so creepy!" He immediately got on Hookfang and flew off.

The two girls watch him go in surprise. "Did you see that?" Raeda asked Hicca.

"I did." Hicca said. "Looks like Snotlout can't handle his own medicine." Which was very ironic considering the boy who flirts with Astrid all the time got freaked out when someone flirted with him, even as a joke.

Back on Changewing Island, Hiccup has just finished telling Ruffnut the plan.

"You want me to what?" The blonde girl asked in disbelief.

"Train the Scauldron!" Hiccup instructed.

Ruffnut took one look at the Scauldron, before looking back to Hiccup. "I can't do that!"

"Sure you can, you trained Barf!" Hiccup reminded her.

"That's half a dragon." Ruffnut pointed out.

"And let's be honest. I did most of the work." Tuffnut added, still resting on the boulder.

"Well, what about the classes at the Academy?" Hiccup said.

"Wait. We have classes." Ruffnut asked, looking and sounding genuinely shocked.

"Yeah, you know when Hicca and I are standing in the front and talking about dragons." Hiccup said, wondering if she was actually shocked that they have dragon training classes.

"You two were talking to us." Tuffnut said, as surprised as his sister was.

Hiccup facepalmed himself. He really shouldn't be surprised with the Thorston twins. "I, uh, okay never mind." He said. "Uh, look don't worry Ruffnut, I'll talk you through training the Scauldron."

"Hiccup we need to hurry." Fishlegs urged. "The Scauldron is really looking dry."

Hiccup looked at the Scauldron and saw Fishlegs was right, its scales were getting paler the more time the dragon spend on land.

"Okay, step one: establish a bond." Hiccup instructed.

"With who?" Ruffnut asked.

"'With who'? The dragon." Hiccup said in disbelief because _seriously?_

"Right! How exactly?" Ruffnut asked.

This time Fishlegs facepalmed himself and turned to Tuffnut. "You guys don't ever pay attention do you?" He asked.

"No." Tuffnut answered.

Hiccup calmed himself before speaking. "Ruffnut, try this; give the dragon a name."

"Okay, how about, Please-Don't-Kill-Me?" Ruffnut suggested, clearly still nervous about being near a hostile dragon.

Not a name Hiccup was going for."Yeah, or maybe something little more positive." He said.

"I got one." Tuffnut piped in. "Scalding Painful Death the Dragon."

Definitely not any better. "How is that more positive?"

"How is it not?" Tuffnut countered.

Ruffnut then got another name "Can I just go with Scauldy?"

"Perfect!" Hiccup exclaimed, happy that they got through that at least.

Ruffnut then turned to the newly named 'Scauldy' and smiled. "Hey, there Scauldy." She greeted in a friendly tone. She turned to the other boys, silently asking them how she was doing. Hiccup and Fishlegs nodded at her and gestured for her to continue. The Thorston girl looked back at Scauldy. "So, Scauldy what brings you to Changewing Island? The tide or… the tide?" Ruffnut said, struggling to come up with a good conversation. She then shielded herself as if the Scauldron would attack her any minute. "I got nothing! Sorry guys!"

Instead of getting angry, the Scauldron just looked at Ruffnut in curiosity, to the blonde girls' relief.

"Did that just sorta work?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yeah, but here comes the moment of truth." Hiccup answered. He then called out to Ruffnut. "Okay, talk to him again, but this time reach out your hand. Like this."

Hiccup demonstrated by reaching his arm out and closing his eyes, the same way he and his sister first bonded with Toothless and Midnight. He felt something pressed against his hand, but was surprised to feel that it wasn't the scaly feel of Toothless' snout that he was use to. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see the Fishlegs pressed his face against Hiccups' hand!

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup exclaimed, jolting his hand away.

Fishlegs backed away nervously. "Sorry, just feeling very nervous for Ruffnut." He explained. He turned to see Toothless glaring at him, annoyed at the boy for taking his spot. "I'll go and keep an eye out for Changewings."

Hiccup shook his head and turned to Ruffnut. "Go on Ruffnut." He encouraged.

Ruffnut looked back to Scauldy very nervous about what she has to do. Very slowly she extended her hand and looked away.

The suddenness of Tuffnut's voice caused her to jumped. "You can do it, sis." She turned to glare at her twin as he continued. "But in case you can't at least your death will be quick, mostly painless and really cool to watch."

That definitely did not help Ruffnut at all. She turned back to Scauldy and took a deep breath before reaching her hand out to him and closing her eyes again. "So, Scauldy, I'm guessing you're as freaked out as I am right now." Ruffnut said, her eyes were still closed as she turned her head away from the dragon. "You don't kill me I'll really appreciate it and-" She stopped talking when she felt something dry and scaly pressed against her hand. She opened her eyes and saw that the Scauldron has pressed its' snout against her hand, the bond between human and dragon has formed.

"Yeah, Scauldy." Ruffnut breathed out in relief as she started patting the dragon.

Hiccup was happy and relieved to see that the plan worked. He turned to Tuffnut and Fishlegs. "Come on, guys, let's go."

He and Toothless started walking towards Scauldy again. The Scauldron saw them coming and growled at them again, but this time Ruffnut was able to calm it down. "I know, I know, Scauldy. Hiccup, kind of bossy, but look he's trying to help you. Trust me."

"Shouldn't one of us stay back for a look out for Changewings?" Fishlegs suggested as he looked around the area, fearing that a Changewing can leap out any second. That was possible, after all they were on Changewing Island.

"Changewing or not. We need to help this dragon and it's going to take all of us to get those rocks off." Hiccup said.

"Besides, if there were Changewings anywhere near us I would sense them." Tuffnut said getting off the boulder to go and help. But what he didn't notice was that the spot he just left happened to have an invisible Changewing, and it was definitely not happy at the intruders.

Toothless must have sensed danger as his pupils turned to slits and he started growling. Hiccup noticed this. "What is it, bud?" He asked.

The Night Fury then saw the Changewing above Hiccup. Unbeknownst to Hiccup, the wild dragon was getting ready to spit acid at him. Toothless gave out a roar and attacked the Changewing before it could harm his human.

That's when more Changewings appeared to help their friend. Meatlug, Barf and Belch joined in to fight against the Changewings, but it was no good, they were outnumbered. The Scauldron, still pinned by the boulders, could not shoot boiling hot water at them because its' scales were getting dry due to being out of the water for so long.

Tuffnut didn't seem to worried about the sudden danger. "Oh, man I must be dreaming because this is way cooler than what was happening minutes ago."

For a moment, it looked like the Changewings had the advantage here, until there were blasts coming from above, causing the Changewings to fly to safety.

The group looked up and saw Hicca, Raeda, Snotlout and Astrid with Midnight, Sparkfire, Hookfang and Stormfly flying above them.

"One Snotlout surprise coming up." Snotlout called out to the Changewings before Hookfang fired at them.

Astrid and Raeda had Stormfly and Sparkfire shoot spines at the acid-spitting dragons while Midnight fired plasma blasts at them, keeping them away from the group on the ground.

Reluctantly, the Changewings decided to retreat, but they definitely were not going to let this go.

Scauldy was still growling at the retreating Changewings. "Calm down Scauldy. It's okay, it's okay. Calm down." Ruffnut soothed, successful in calming the Scauldron down.

The four teens and dragons in the air landed next to the other group.

"What have told you guys about playing with wild Changewings?" Astrid asked as she and the other three teens got off their dragons.

"We are out looking for the Screaming Death, not Changewings." Hicca reminded her brother.

"We were trying to keep them away from Scauldy." Hiccup explained.

"Scauldy?" Astrid repeated in confusion.

"Well, it was that or Scalding Painful Death the Dragon." Hiccup explained.

"Mine." Tuffnut piped in, raising his hand.

"Okay, I'm going to be in your group next time, Hiccup. You guys are having all the fun." Raeda said.

"This is the part where you guys explain to us what exactly is going on here." Hicca prompted.

"We'll explain later." Fishlegs said. "But those Changewings are going to be back with friends, lots of them so..."

"So, let's move these boulders." Hiccup finished. He turned to Ruffnut, who was still with Scauldy down. "Ruff, you need to keep Scauldy focused on you, not us." He instructed as he got on Toothless. Hicca, Raeda, Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs followed his lead. They then flew up.

"Okay." Ruffnut said before she thought about it. "Wait, how do I do that?"

"Try your stupid Hiccup impression." Tuffnut suggested, sitting back on the boulder. He couldn't fly Barf and Belch without Ruffnut so he and the Zippleback were stuck on the ground as well.

"Oh, yeah good idea." Ruffnut said. She then stood up straight, with her hands on her hips and spoke in a nasally voice. "Hello, nice dragon. You can be my friend. My leg fell off. All the dragons are my friends."

"I don't sound like that!" Hiccup called from above.

"Although it's a little funny." Hicca commented clearly amused by the impression.

"And p.s my leg didn't 'fall off.'" Hiccup continued. "Try something else."

"Like what?" Ruffnut asked.

"Try one of those songs mum use to sing to you when little and were afraid of the dark." Tuffnut suggested again.

"You were afraid of the dark not me. I was afraid of you!" Ruffnut reminded him.

"Just sing!" Tuffnut retorted.

Ruffnut decided to take the suggestion.

 _Hush little Viking, don't you cry,_

 _Or the Berserker will stab you in the eye._

Ruffnut paused to see how Scauldy would react to that song. When he seemed calm, she continued.

 _Don't let the enemy see you afraid,_

 _Or he's going to gut you with a rusty blade._

As she continued to sing the other Dragon Riders removed the boulders off Scauldys' wing. Thankfully, the Scauldron didn't seemed to notice or wasn't bothered by this.

"How did you fall asleep with this song." Raeda asked as she listened to the song while working.

 _If the dragon hears you moan,_

 _He's going to mash up all your bones._

Scauldy did not like that particular part of the song and made it known. Ruffnut paused as she realised what she sang to him. "Sorry." She said, before continuing. This time, she decided to make up her own words.

 _I promise, Scauldy, if you don't kill me,_

 _My friends and I will get you out to sea._

Finally the last of the boulders was removed and Scauldy saw that its' wings were free. The tidal class dragon tried to flap its' wings and get back into the water, but found that it couldn't even with the boulders gone. In fact, it seemed to be in pain.

The teens above noticed the problem.

"His wings are broken." Hicca said. "I should have guessed something like this could happen from the boulders." She got Midnight to fly closer to the ground so that she could leap off and inspect one of the wings.

"There's no way he can swim or fly with his wings like that." Hiccup said.

"So, we did all this for nothing." Ruffnut said, dejected that they may not be able to save Scauldy after all.

"Hang on, not all is lost here." Hicca said, getting up. "We can still fix the wings."

"With what a giant dragon splint?" Snotlout snorted.

"Exactly." Hicca answered without missing a beat. She looked at the Scauldrons' wings, noting down the measurements and deciding what she need. She has made splints before but never one for a dragon. This is definitely taking her a little out of her comfort zone in the medical field, but if she wants to be a healer, both to humans and dragons, then she needs to learn how to do this.

"I knew that. That's why I said it because it was my idea." Snotlout said, quick to claim credit. Astrid rolled her eyes at him.

"Any time now!" Ruffnut yelled as Scauldy started pressing her to the ground with his head.

"Okay for this we're going to need logs, lots of them, and vines to secure the logs together." Hicca instructed.

"We can also use the ropes from my shield." Hiccup offered.

"That will definitely help." Hicca said. "We're still going to need lots of vines though. I don't think we'll have enough rope for the whole splint."

"You got it." Fishlegs said before he, Astrid, Snotlout and Raeda flew off to find the logs and vines.

Hicca turned to Ruffnut. "Ruffnut can you-"

"Yeah, yeah, I already know. I'm on stupid dragon-sitting duty." Ruffnut called out, not leaving from her spot. Scauldy growled in complain of being called 'stupid'. "I didn't really mean that."

"Hey, what am I supposed to do?" Tuffnut asked. He still couldn't fly Barf and Belch without his sister.

Hiccup gave the blonde boy his shield. "Start pulling all the rope from the grappling hook and the bolos." He ordered while taking out some bolas from his saddle bag. Tuffnut started tinkering with the shield. ""But be very careful of the-" Hiccup tried to warn, but was too late as Tuffnut got knocked down by the built in mini-catapult. "-Mini catapult."

Soon the Dragon Riders regrouped with as many logs and vines as they could gather.

"Good job everyone." Hiccup said.

"This should be enough for the splint." Hicca said, looking at the materials.

"Here you go." Tuffnut said, holding out Hiccups' shield for him.

"Sorry about the catapult thing." Hiccup apologised.

"Aw, it's okay. It's sorta hair-trigger." Tuffnut said, touching the side of the shield, where the catapult was.. "I tighten it up for you so-" He didn't get to finished that sentence as he accidentally triggered the shield again once again knocking the blonde boy down. "Just take it." Hiccup quickly took the shield before it could do anymore damage to Tuffnut.

"Okay, someone needs to be on the lookout for Changewings while the rest of us work on the splint." Hiccup

"Astrid and I will go. Alone by ourselves." Snotlout offered, putting an arm around Astrid.

"Knock yourself out." Hiccup said.

Astrid gave Snotlout a glare, clearly not happy about having to spend more time with him alone. "What? Just saying what you we thinking." He defended. Astrid took the arm he had around her shoulders and twisted it before flipping him over her shoulder and onto the ground. Silently she went to her dragon. "I'm coming. Okay, I'm coming." Snotlout said, getting up and hopping on Hookfang.

Watching the scene, Raeda went to Hicca and tapped her on her shoulder, getting her attention. When Hicca looked at her, the Henderson girl tilted her head towards Astrid, as if she was sending a silent message to Hicca. Hicca looked at Astrid and back to Raeda and it seemed that she understood the message because she nodded her head. The two girls then went to Astrid before she got on her dragon.

"What would you do to get Snotlout off your back?" Raeda asked Astrid.

"Better question is what _wouldn't_ I do to get Snotlout off my back." Astrid replied.

"Well maybe there is a way to do that." Hicca said.

"Really?! Tell me!" Astrid demanded, her hopes rising at this new information.

"It's very simple actually, flirt back at Snotlout." Raeda said.

Astrid paused, waiting for one or both of the girls to suddenly break out laughing. She saw that neither was going to do so. "Are you two serious, right now? I thought you guys actually had a way to help me!"

"Astrid think about it." Hicca said. "You've insulted him, rolled your eyes at him, beat him to the ground and practically told him you're not interested in him, yet he keeps coming back for more. Why not try the other way?"

"Fight fire with fire." Raeda agreed. Astrid still had doubts on their advice and it was shown on her face. Raeda then added. "If that makes it worse, you can always kick him off his dragon."

"Well there is _that_." Astrid said, seeming to agree with the back-up plan more than the original plan. She then got on Stormfly and flew off with Snotlout and Hookfang to keep a look-out for Changewings.

"Oh wait that reminds me." Hicca said to Raeda. She pointed at her twin and Raeda nodded in understanding.

The two girls walked to where Hiccup was and to his surprise, him on his shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his shoulders.

"For putting us in the same group with Snotlout and Astrid." Hicca answered before moving to the supplies to get started on the splint.

"Haven't you learned anything?" Raeda asked.

"Sorry, but in my defense I did offer to take Ruffnut and Tuffnut in my team." Hiccup said.

The remaining teens then got started on the splint, under Hiccas' guidance.

Meanwhile Astrid and Snotlout were keeping a sharp eye out for the Changewings. Well, Astrid was. "You see anything?" She asked Snotlout.

"Just two of the most beautiful eyes in the world. Yours." Snotlout answered, staring as Astrid again.

Annoyed once again, Astrid looked as Snotlout who was kissing his muscles. She then thought back to the advice Raeda and Hicca gave her. It may be the best or worst idea she ever got. "Okay, that it." She said. 'Hicca, Raeda, this better work.' "You're won me over, Snotlout." Astrid said sweetly, looking at him dreamily. "Let's do this."

Snotlout jolted back in shock. "Do what?"

"Be a couple. You and me. Together. For ever." Astrid sighed happily still staring at him.

Snotlout couldn't believe what he was hearing. Astrid Hofferson flirting with _him_? This has never happened before and he doesn't like it, one bit. "Huh, what are you doing?"

"Seeing you as if for the first time." Astrid answered smiling.

This was starting to creep Snotlout out. "Stop it. You're freaking me out." He scooched back, but accidently got off his saddle and ended up dangling upside-down on Hookfangs' neck.

Excited that the plan was actually working, had Stormfly fly her below Hookfang so that she could be close to Snotlout. "But the clouds are reflecting so beautifully in your sky blue eyes."

"Clouds? What clouds?" Snotlout asked, now panicking at the sudden affection. He was looking for anyway out of this mess.

"That one right…" Astrid pointed ahead of her. But then she noticed what she was actually pointing at. "There."

"I don't think that's a cloud." Snotlout said, squinting his eyes.

Astrid got a better look, and for once, agreed with Snotlout. "You're right. It's a herd of Changewings heading right for the beach. Let's ride lover boy." With that she pushed Snotlout back on his saddle and flew back, with Snotlout following her completely creeped out at the whole exchange.

Back on the land, the others were finishing up the sling, while Ruffnut decided to dedicate her final song to them.

 _Hurry up guys and fix that wing,_

 _Because I have run out of things to sing._

"Don't worry Ruffnut, we're almost done." Hicca reassured.

"I think it's going to work." Fishlegs said, tying one of the vines.

"Coming in hot!" Snotlout's voice yelled from above as he and Hookfang flew in.

"Well, this can't be good news." Hiccup muttered..

Hookfang landed and Snotlout immediately jumped off his saddle. "I don't understand women."

Hicca and Raeda shared a smirk, knowing their plan worked.

Then Astrid and Stormfly came. "Changewings behind us. About five minutes out." She reported

"How many?" Hiccup asked, hoping they might be able to fend them off.

"Enough that they aren't camouflaging themselves." Astrid answered.

"Uh, Hicca!" Hiccup called.

"Almost done." Hicca answered tying the last vine. Suddenly the vine snapped!

"Argh, it broke!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"Oh, no." Ruffnut moaned.

Hicca tried her best to fix it, but no luck. "It won't work!"

"We need more rope." Fishlegs said, trying to find some more rope. His eyes widened when he saw the Changewings landing in the woods and immediately ran to Meatlug. "Ah! We're out of time! They're coming, they're coming!"

"Ruffnut, Hicca, we have to go." Hiccup urged when he noticed that they were the only two who weren't getting on their dragons.

"You never abandoned a patient! Especially not a dying patient!" Hicca exclaimed, trying to find a way to fix the sling. She might not have made a close bond with Scauldy the way Ruffnut did, but she knew she could never leave the poor dragon like this.

"Can't we all lift Scauldy?" Ruffnut pleaded.

"Even if we could it wouldn't do any good. The dragon can't swim." Hiccup reasoned as he got on Toothless. He saw that the two girls still weren't moving. "Hicca! Ruffnut!"

"No! I am not leaving him here!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Me neither!" Hicca yelled.

"Look sis, Hicca-" Tuffnut said, trying to think of something to say.

The group noticed the Changewings getting closer. "Whatever we're going to do we have to do it now." Astrid said.

Ruffnut and Hicca tried desperately to think of a way to save Scauldy, but couldn't think of anything. Scauldy, fully aware of the situation, pushed Ruffnut away with his head. His message was clear; he wanted her to go and save herself.

Hicca saw this. "Look, we can save Scauldy! I just need something long enough to hold the vines and secure the sling!"

Ruffnut tried to think of something they could use. She touched her braids and then, looking at them, brought hope to her eyes.

"Wait! I have an idea!" The Thorston girl yelled, pulling out a dagger from her vest.

The Changewings flew into the area, ready to attack the teens and dragons. However, they were met with an empty space. They sniffed around looking for any signs of the group. One of the Changewings found Ruffnuts' dagger on the ground and growled. 'Those intruders got away!'

A good distance away from Changewing Island, the Dragon Riders were flying in the air and Scauldy was swimming in the sea, thanks to his splint which was being held together by Ruffnuts' chopped braids.

Ruffnut is now sporting a short, chin length hairstyle.

Hiccup flew next to Astrid. "Sorry about sticking you with Snotlout today." He said to her. "Sis and Raeda filled me in on what happened."

"It wasn't that bad. Watch this." Astrid said before turning to Snotlout. "Hey, Sweetie Pie, Honeybunch, Snotykums." She called out sweetly.

Each nickname made Snotlout cringe. "Would you stop it already? You are grossing me out"

"Yeah, you're kind of grossing me out to." Hiccup commented.

"Atta girl, Astrid." Raeda praised.

"I change my mind. From now on Snotlout and Astrid will always be in the same group." Hicca declared.

Hiccup shook his head in amusement and flew towards Ruffnut. "Ruff, you did good back there."

"You really did. I mean that was awesome." Fishlegs added.

"You know what would have been more awesome?" Tuffnut asked his sister.

"Yeah, if it would have eaten me!" Ruffnut answered. punching him in the arm.

"I love it when you're in my mind sis." Tuffnut said and they slammed their helmets into each other.

"You too, sis. That dragon sling is amazing." Hiccup said to his twin.

"Thanks bro. I'm glad I know how to make one now." Hicca said.

"You guys ready to head home?" Hiccup asked the group.

"Hang on a minute!" Ruffnut replied. She had Barf and Belch flew down closer to the sea and her hand out towards the water. Scauldy's head emerged from the waters allowing Ruffnut to pet his snout. "I'll miss you Scauldy. But look anytime you want to visit I'll just kick out Tuffnut to make room. No problem okay." She reassured him. Scauldy gave his goodbye before then going back into the water and swimming away. "Bye."

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like a boy?" Tuffnut asked his sister.

"Has anyone ever told you?" Ruffnut retorted as the group flew back to Berk.


	15. Frozen

**A/N: Hey guys! Long time no see. Thanks to spring break this week I've been able to catch up on some of my chapters, so here's is the report:**

 **\- Going to have two chapters up in this update**

 **\- The Eel Effect, which is after Tale of Two Dragons, is almost done and will be posted some time this week**

 **\- I'm currently working on another original chapter that will be posted after the chapter mentioned above**

 **Anyways, on to the chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon except my OC's**

 **Chapter 15: Frozen**

Berk is currently suffering through its worst blizzard in history. It has been going on for about a week. All the villagers were either in their homes or in the Great Hall, all the doors and windows were locked and barricaded so that not even a small crack was left open. Right now, the Dragon Riders and their dragons are locked inside one of the pens in the Academy.

Hiccup decided to use the time they had locked in to in dragon lessons. "So, as you can see by the chart, proper wing control can be achieved by-" He was interrupted when a fire blasted into the stone board Hiccup was using to draw diagrams. Hiccup gave an irritated huffed before turning to the others. "Okay, okay, who shot that fireball?"

His eyes narrowed in on his cousin, who was whistling a little too innocently. Next to him, Hookfang was resting with the clear tell-tale sign of smoke coming out of his nostrils.

Snotlout noticed Hiccup glaring at him. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Come on, guys, I don't want to be here any more than you do. Can we just get back to training, please?" Hiccup pleaded.

But the others, not even his own twin, weren't cooperating. "I say we play Twenty Questions instead." Snotlout said. "Anyone? Anyone? Astrid, why do you love me so much?"

That comment caused Astrid to gag.

Tuffnut was in for the game. "Me, me, me. Okay, I'll go first." He said enthusiastically, raising his hand. He didn't notice Snotlout giving a silent signal to Hookfang. "Question number one-" The Monstrous Nightmare whacks Tuffnut back with his tail. "Ow! Ow!" But that didn't stop Tuffnut "How do you play Twenty Questions?"

"Uh, can we try to stay focused? Even for a second?" Hiccup pleaded again. "Sis, can you help me out here."

"Sorry bro. But I lost the focus after the third day here." Hicca apologised, looking up from her medical book.

"Hicca has a point. We've been stuck inside for a week straight because of this crazy weather. We're all starting to go a little nuts." Astrid said.

As if to prove her point, Fishlegs was currently talking to Meatlugs' toes while the Gronckle was lying down. "Ooh, Mr. Pinky, don't tell the others, but you are my favorite."

"Well it's not that bad if you have a way to cope." Raeda commented. Her way of coping was carving graffiti-like art all over the walls of the pen, even the ceiling (which she got done with the help from Sparkfire)

Barf and Belch were biting their own tails, while their riders were watching.

"Barf and Belch just found out they have tails!" Ruffnut explained to the others. "And it looks like they really hate that idea."

"Yeah, I got the same way when I found out I had a tail." Tuffnut said. He then started running in a circle, chasing his own butt. "You can't hide from me forever, invisible tail! I'll get you!"

Ruffnut chuckles at her twin as she walked towards Hicca and Hiccup. Her hair now fully grown back to the way it was before.

"I may have told Tuff that he has a tail, too." Ruffnut whispered to the Haddock twins.

"You can't hide from me for long!"

The doors to the pen opened bringing in a strong gust of cold wind and Stoick the Vast. "Odin's ghost, it's cold out there! Worst freeze in the history of Berk! My-My beard is frozen solid." The chief exclaimed.

This surprised the auburn twins. There must be an emergency if it would make the chief or anyone out in this weather to them. "So, Father, what brings you to the Academy?" Hiccup asked.

"Trader Johann hasn't reported to port. If he's trapped out in this storm, he won't last the night." Stoick explained. "I was think-"

Hiccup jumped in at the golden opportunity. "Oh, yes, I can go! You know, Toothless can help find Johann's ship in the darkness. He is the perfect dragon for the job."

"So can I! With me and Midnight we'll have two more pairs of eyes which will make the search easier _and_ we'll be equipped with medical supplies and a qualified person who knows how to use them in case Trader Johann needs it." Hicca chimed in, also wanting to get out of here.

But Stoick was reluctant to send his children out in this weather. "Ehh, I don't know…"

"Please, Dad. If you ever cared for us at all, the way a father cares for his children, then you will let us leave." Hiccup pleaded.

Stoick looked around and saw why his kids were so eager to leave. It was a crazy scene in the Academy. The teens are either picking fights with each other or hugging their dragons feet or carving into the walls and the dragons were also picking fights and biting their own tails. If the Haddock twins didn't leave soon they may lose their sanity as well.

Stoick sighed. "Bolt the door behind you when you leave, please." He instructed his kids before he left.

The Haddock twins high-fived each other before leaving with their dragons, making sure to bolt the door to the pen on their way out.

The four of them flew out into the cold, with the humans rubbing on their arms to keep themselves warm.

"It's pretty dark out here, guys." Hiccup commented. "Okay, bud. do your thing."

"Go ahead, girl." Hicca said.

The two Night Furies used their echo-locations as their guidance along the vast ocean.

Hiccup looked down to see a thick layer of ice covering the ocean. "Wow! Look at that. I've never seen the ocean frozen solid before. No wonder Trader Johann can't get to port. No one could get through this."

"Maybe if you walked on the ice." Hicca commented.

Something below then caught their attention. They looked down and saw what appears to be clouds rapidly moving in one direction. The group above weren't sure but they could see movement among the clouds.

"Looks like someone decided to take advantage of the ice." Hicca commented.

"I don't know what that was, but I'm glad we're up here and it's down there." Hiccup said, he got a bad feeling of whatever that was.

The twins and Night Furies decided to continue on their search.

Hicca then spotted something. "Hiccup, look!" She said, pointing.

Hiccup looked and saw a very familiar ship. "There he is!" The Night Furies wasted no time and sped towards the ship, where they were greeted by Trader Johann.

"Master Hiccup! Mistress Hicca! You're both welcome sights for these weary eyes." Johann called out to them.

After Hicca did a check up on him and determined that he is in good health. They flew him back to Berk.

"In all my years on the briny deep, I have never witnessed a freeze quite like this one. Ice as thick as Thor's hammer! I even considered abandoning my ship and traveling to Berk on foot. I would have sent an airmail, but that would be too cruel for the poor dragon" Johann told the two teens, looking at the said dragon who was flying with them.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that now, Johann. Just enjoy the ride." Hiccup reassured.

Trader Johann was happy to hear that. "Excellent. We shall pass the time with stories of my grand adventures that are sure to warm your hearts and stoke the fires of your imaginations." Johann said excitedly. But Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight all exchanged looks. This is going to be a loooong ride. "Did I ever tell you about the time I found myself up against the man eating metal masons of Minori Majore? Oh, it was spring. The smell of fresh jasmine was in the air…"

After what felt like forever for four of the five in the group, they were getting close to Berk just as Johann was concluding yet another one of his stories. "But it was not a yak; It was his daughter! I could not believe! She looked like a yak and her name was Yakmine. And that, Master Hiccup and Mistress Hicca, is how the king of Ennuden made me an honorary member of his royal court."

Hiccup felt immense relief when he saw Berk.. "Oh, look, we're here. Thank Odin." Toothless shook his head, also thankful.

"To think we left the pen to try to retain our sanities." Hicca muttered to Midnight. The female Night Fury warbled in agreement.

When they arrived, the weather improved immensely. There was no longer freezing cold winds blowing from different directions and some of the snow was beginning to thaw. Yet, the group that came back was put on the edge when they landed. That was because the village was completely trashed with no sign of anyone anywhere, which was strange since the villagers would take any chance they'd get to go out and enjoy the warmer conditions.

"Not the welcome I'm accustomed to, but nonetheless." Trader Johann said looking around.

"Where is everyone?" Hiccup wondered.

"It's too quiet here. That never happens." Hicca said, getting a bad feeling.

Trader Johann decided to share another one of his stories. "This reminds me of the time I landed on the island of the Red-

Hiccup silenced him by raising his hand. "Hello? Anyone?" He called out.

"Let's go to the Academy and see if the others are still there." Hicca suggested. Her brother nodded at that. Hicca turned to Johann before they walked away. "Johann look around the village and see if you can find anyone."

As the group split up, twins and dragons flew to the Academy, while the Terrible Terror decided to go look for some friends. Toothless and Midnight started sniffing around, hoping to get a scent of any villager. What they found was a new scent that was causing them to growl.

Hiccup opened the doors to the pen they were all in and hoped to be greeted by the rest of the dragon riders and their dragons. But they were instead greeted by four Terrible Terrors flying out of the pen.

The four of them then went to their house, hoping to find Stoick. When they arrived they mug that has been dropped to the ground with the contents spilled.

"Hiccup, something is definitely wrong here. Dad should've been out here waiting for us to come back to greet Trader Johann." Hicca said.

"Dad?" Hiccup called out, before he and his sister ran inside to look for their father. They looked, only to find it completely empty.

"What in the name of Thor is going on?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Hicca said, crossing her arms.

The two of them walked out and rejoined Toothless and Midnight, who were still on high guard after discovering the new scent. The four of them then met up with Trader Johann.

"Johann, anything?" Hiccup asked.

"The whole town Master Hiccup, it's empty." The trader reported.

"I know. It's very weird." Hiccup said.

"Do you think that maybe Berk was under attack while we were gone?" Hicca asked, worriedly.

"Doubt it. Not even Dagur would want to sail under the harsh weather, he wouldn't be able to even if he wanted to. Plus if there was fleet of ships sailing for Berk, we would have spotted them while we were in the air." Her brother answered.

"Well whatever is going on here, I don't like it one bit." Trader Johann said.

"That makes two of us." Hicca said.

Trader Johann then thought of yet another story. "There was one time I was on a trade run with a man who claimed to be a warlock and…"

He stopped when he and the others suddenly saw a figure running inside one of the houses.

"Let's go, Toothless. Johann, stay here." Hiccup said, before he and Toothless ran to the house.

"Midnight stay with him." Hicca instructed before she ran to join her brother.

Hiccup got in the house before his sister and started looking around, to find whoever came here. He was so busy looking around that he didn't noticed the figure above him, until he turned around the and saw someone falling on him before his vision turned black.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" A very familiar voice called to Hiccup, bringing him back to consciousness. The Haddock boy blinked a few times before he eyes went to Hicca and Toothless who were right in front of him. "Hicca? Toothless?" But the two of them were suddenly moved out the way and Fishlegs immediately came into view, causing Hiccup to jolt backwards. "Whoa! Don't ever do that again!"

Fishlegs immediately hugged Hiccup. "Hiccup! Oh, thank Thor! I'm so sorry I fell on you!"

"Okay, Fishlegs." Hiccup breathed out. Fishlegs was hugging him a bit too tightly.

Sensing her brothers' discomfort, Hicca stepped in. "Okay, Fishlegs give him some room to breathe." Fishlegs let go of Hiccup. "Mind explaining to us exactly what's going on here? This place is a ghost town. We could not have been gone for that long."

Fishlegs started walking around nervously. "Fast, really fast, too fast. Speedy. Oh, and there sting, paralyzing sting!" He muttered, loud enough for the twins to hear.

"Whoa, hold on, Fishlegs. What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked.

"Slow down and just tell us what happened." Hicca instructed.

"Speed Stingers." Fishlegs simply said.

The twins eyes widened at that, knowing the particular specie from the Book of Dragons.

"Speed Stingers? Here?" Hiccup asked.

"That can't be." Hicca said, shaking her head

"It all started just after nightfall." Fishlegs started to explain as he walked to the lit up fireplace to warm his hands. "They don't fly but they're fast. Faster than any dragon I've ever seen, and they hide in the shadows. Scavengers, looking for anything they can find. One drop of their venom can paralyze a human or dragon in an instant. They move in a pack following a leader who directs them like a war chief. By the time Stoick ordered everybody to the cove the entire village had been overrun."

"Well, where are the Speed Stingers now?" Hiccup asked

"I don't know." Fishlegs answered. "The sun came up and they disappeared, but they'll be back. They come out at night."

"I don't understand, why did you come back here, Fishlegs, why not stay with everyone at the cove?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah you'd be a sitting duck for the Speed Stingers." Hicca agreed.

Fishlegs brought the twins and Toothless to another house. On the roof of the house stood Meatlug, who was paralyzed and in a fighting pose.

"Just look at her up there, so majestic." Fishlegs commented.

The Haddock twins and the male Night Fury were shocked to see Meatlug up there. "How did we miss that?" Hiccup wondered.

"Seriously, we were even flying around here."

"She tried to draw them away so I could escape. I just couldn't leave her." Fishlegs told them.

Trader Johann and Midnight joined the group. "How did we miss that?" The trader noticed as well.

The group then worked together to move Meatlug from the roof to a wheelbarrow so that they can all go to the cove. Fishlegs and Trader Johann were on the roof working on moving Meatlug while Hicca was inspecting the paralysed dragon, taking some mental notes.

"Well the good thing is that this is not permanent. According to Borks' notes, paralysis from speed stingers are temporary. Bork had enough experiences with Speed Stingers to know this." Hicca informed the others

"So, she eats rocks, you say?" Trader Johann grunted as he tried to push Meatlug from behind. "That makes sense."

Meatlug suddenly farts in his face. "Ooh, oh, dear. That's quite an effect." Trader Johann said before he fainted and fell off the roof and into the wheelbarrow.

"Movement! You're right, Hicca. The effects are wearing off. This is very good. Come up and help, Hiccup." Fishlegs called.

Hiccup climbed up the roof and looked around. "Uh, where's Johann?"

Hicca pointed to the ground, where the wheelbarrow is.

"I'm okay, guys. I actually landed on me fluffy bits." Johann called out from the bottom of the wheel-barrow.

"Any idea how long the paralysis lasts, sis?" Hiccup asked.

"No idea. The notes only mentioned that it will wear off, but not when." Hicca answered.

"How do you guys think the Speed Stingers got here? They can't fly." Fishlegs wondered.

"If I had to guess I would say it was because the ocean is frozen solid, creating an ice bridge from island to ours." Hiccup inferred, remembering his sisters' comment on being able to walk on the iced-up sea.

"I bet you that was the speed stingers we saw back when we flew over the ice bridge." Hicca said.

"We need to get to the cove right away." Hiccup said.

He and Fishlegs worked to push Meatlug off the roof and into the wheelbarrow. They succeeded and Johann only got a second to see Meatlug falling before the Gronckle right on top of him into the wheelbarrow. "Oh. I'm alright." He called out.

After Hicca did a quick examination on Johann to make sure that he was indeed alright, the group made their way to the cove. When they entered, Hiccup and Hicca saw many of the villagers completely paralysed. They walked in and looked around the frozen vikings until their eyes landed on their dad, who is among the victims.

"Dad." Hiccup and Hicca both said sadly as they looked at their dads' frozen form. The chief was in a battle pose, looking to be in the middle of a fight with a Speed Stinger before he got stung.

Gobber, who didn't get stung at the attack, walked up to the twins. "He gave as good as he got, Hiccup. It took six of those Speed Stingers to freeze the poor bugger."

Stoick tried to say something, but it only came out as a muffle thanks to his paralysed mouth.

"You bet ya, Chief." Gobber replied.

"What did he say?" Hiccup asked.

"No clue. Don't want to make him feel worse than he does." Gobber answered.

"We should have been here. Hicca, Toothless, Midnight and I could have helped." Hiccup sighed.

"We could have saved dad and the others." Hicca agreed.

"Nonsense, kids. There were too many of them. Nothing would have mattered." Their mentor reassured. "Tell you one thing, those Stingers would be dining on smoked sturgeon and yak jerky tonight, if it weren't for your father." He said gesturing to the crates full of said food.

Stoick tried once again to say something, but again it came out as a muffle.

"Couldn't agree with you more, Stoick." Gobber replied, winking at the kids.

"Hiccup! Hicca!" Two voices called out. Hicca and Hiccup turned to see Astrid and Raeda running to them, both girls relieved to see the Haddock twins. Astrid gave Hiccup a hug and if it wasn't for the situation then Hicca and Raeda would have definitely teased them for that.

"Astrid. Raeda. How's everyone else?" Hiccup asked, referring to the rest of the teens.

"Everyone's fine." Astrid answered.

"Well not everyone." Raeda said, looking in a different direction.

The auburn twins looked at where the Henderson girl was looking at and saw the Thorston twins messing with a paralyzed Snotlout.

"Stop hitting yourself." Ruffnut said, before using Snotlouts' own hand to slap himself.

Tuffnut did the same with Snotlouts' other hand. "Stop hitting yourself Stop hitting yourself. Stop picking your own nose. Stop scratching yourself."

Astrid, Raeda, Hicca and Hiccup watched the scene. "Actually, when you think about it, it's really not so bad."

"I did try to stop them." Raeda said.

"Did you just tell them to stop in a low voice, knowing they wouldn't hear you?" Hiccup asked knowingly.

"Maybe." Raeda answered. He knew her well.

"Oh, come on. Your face isn't that ugly." Ruffnut said to Snotlout. A thump sound was then heard. "Oh, wait."

The teens continued to wait around in the Cove with the rest of the villagers, frozen and non-frozen. Hicca was looking at the paralysed victims, on the look-out for signs of movements that will indicate that the effects are starting to wear off, while Hiccup was sitting near his father drawing a Speed Stinger in the dirt with a stick.

Astrid walked up to Hiccup. "It's going to be dark soon. The Speed Stingers will be back for the rest of the food. Everyone wants to know what we're gonna do."

Hiccup looked up to see his father. Getting motivation, the boy stood up. "Gather the other Dragon Riders. We're heading out."

Astrid did as she was told and soon the other dragon riders (except for Snotlout who was still paralysed) were assembled and waited as Hiccup joined them. "Okay, we're ready." Astrid said.

"Guys, these dragons only come out at night, so we need to find where they sleep during the day." Hiccup explained to the rest of the team. "The only problem is we need to find their nest before sundown or-"

"Can we not think about the 'or', please?" Astrid interrupted.

Fishlegs agreed to that. "Yeah, they came out of nowhere like a pack of wild badgers, scavenging and, uh-"

"Badge-ge-ging." Tuffnut chimed in. The others gave him a look. "What? That's what a badger does. It badges."

Hiccup continued on. "Well, thanks for that. Uh, let's go."

The seven teens were about to walk to their dragons when a voice stopped them. "Hold up. You're not going on a Stinger hunt without me." Snotlout called out, his head starting to recover from the paralysis. He jerks his head and somehow manages to get himself to stand up.

"Whoa. That is seriously creepy." Tuffnut commented.

"Looks like his paralysis is starting to wear off." Hicca commented.

"Lucky us." Fishlegs muttered.

"Snotlout unless you plan on flying Hookfang with your teeth, you're not going anywhere." Astrid said to Snotlout.

"Which means that there are some perks to this mission." Raeda commented.

"What do you mean? I'm fine." Snotlout said. But he was soon proven wrong when he tried to take a step forward and ended up falling face first to the ground.

Unable to move the rest of his body, Snotlout was stuck to the ground. "Stupid arms and stupid legs." He muttered, as the other teens started getting ready to leave. He sees Gustav, who also didn't get paralysed from the Speed Stingers, walk by him and got an idea. "Hey, Gustav! Get your butt over here." He called out to the younger boy.

As the rest of the teens finished the prep, they were surprised to see that Snotlout had somehow got up from the ground and was saluting them. "Snotlout Jorgenson, reporting for duty." He said, as his hand went down.

"What the-?" Astrid wondered. How was Snotlout doing this?

Hicca had the same thought. "No way. I have been examining all the paralysed victims since we got here. Your paralysis could not have worn off that fast."

Hiccup found the answer when he looked behind Snotlout and saw Gustav standing there, controlling Snotlouts' arms.

"I'm Snotlout's arm and legs." The younger boy explained. "And together we are…"

"Guslout!" Snotlout and Gustav said in unison as Gustav moved Snotlouts' hands to do jazz hands.

"Stop with the hands." Snotlout hissed and Gustav complied.

Snotlout noticed the reluctant look on Hiccup and Hiccas' faces. "Hicca, Hiccup, you two need as much dragon power as you can get."

"I can't believe I'm actually about to say this but he's right." Astrid said reluctantly.

"You're kidding, right?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.

"You heard what Gobber said. There are hundreds of them." Astrid pointed out.

"She does have a point, bro." Hicca admitted.

Hiccup sighed in defeat. "Oh, alright. Fine."

"Yes." Snotlout said in triumph. He looked at Gustav. "Move my arm." Gustav moved Snotlouts' right hand so that the Jorgenson boy could give a thumbs up. "Yes!"

"Let's split up and search for possible Speed Stinger hiding spots." Hiccup said to the others.

"You find the place, send up a signal. If not, then meet up back in the centre of the plaza in two hours." Hicca added.

"Okey-dokey, Hiccup and Hicca." Gustav said, before starting to push Snotlout to Hookfang. It was a tough task for the ten year old since Snotlout was taller and heavier than he was. "Come on. Little bit further. Move with me."

"Fishlegs, how's Meatlug doing?" Hiccup asked.

"She's raring to go Hiccup. Look at her." Fishlegs gestured to Meatlug who was struggling to fly because although her wings could move, her tail was still paralyzed causing her to dragging the lower half of her body around. She ended up crashing into some crates.

"So, what's the actual plan?" Astrid asked.

"Or are we going to wing it." Raeda asked.

Hiccup turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you said they follow their leader in a giant pack, right?"

"Exactly. That's what I saw." Fishlegs confirmed.

"So the plan is: find the Speed Stingers, capture their leader, use it to lure them away." Hiccup explained.

The Dragon Riders split up each of them looking in different areas of Berk, hoping to find a sign of the Speed Stingers.

But for Fishlegs the challenge was more on being able to get their dragons to fly properly.

Fishlegs struggled because Meatlug still hasn't fully recovered from her paralysis and swaying in the air while spewing lava. "It's okay. It's okay, you're doing your best." Fishlegs reassured. Unable to carry her paralysed weight along with Fishlegs', Meatlugs' wings gave up and she and Fishlegs ended up crashing in the forest. Despite the setback, Fishlegs continued to look around.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were tasked with looking in each house to see if the Speed Stingers were hiding there. The twins barged through each doors, each twin armed with a spear and ready to use if needed.

Tuffnut slowly walked into one of the houses. He yelped when he got stung in the butt and dropped to the ground. "I've been stung! I can't feel my tail!" He exclaimed.

Ruffnut laughed as she walked to him holding her spear up, revealing that she was the one behind the 'sting'.

"When this paralysis wears off, you're dead." Tuffnut threatened, still on the ground.

Meanwhile Snotlout facing problems similar to Fishlegs. Since he was still partially paralysed, Gustav was the one who was actually steering Hookfang. But the boy was seated behind Snotlout, so he has to rely on Snotlouts' navigation. "Okay, up, up. Up is where the sky is, down is where the land is."

Despite this, Gustav still had trouble steering Hookfang properly. "I can't see, Snotlout! Your head's too big!" He then got an idea and lightly tapped Hookfangs' neck with his heel. The Monstrous Nightmare seemed to understand and suddenly jerked his head, causing Snotlout to fall off his saddle and into a hole in the ground. This allowed Gustav to steer Hookfang better.

"There will definitely be repercussions for this!" Snotlout shouted to Gustav, his voice muffled by the dirt.

Two hours later the teens all gathered in the centre of the plaza.

"Seriously, no one found anything?" Hiccup asked

"No." Raeda answered

"Not a single Stinger." Astrid said

"Us neither." Fishlegs admitted.

"I got stung." Tuffnut informed the others.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes at her twin. "No, you didn't."

"How could this be? The Speed Stingers could have just decided to leave Berk." Hicca said.

"Have we checked every cave?" Hiccup asked Snotlout, who was tasked along with his cousins to check the cave.

The Jorgenson boy looked away, deciding not to answer that.

"Should have known." Raeda muttered.

"Snotlout, did you check your caves?" Hiccup asked.

"Really? I'm insulted, Hiccup. Of course I did. Do you think I fell off my dragon and spent hours trying to get out of the sand? Ha-ha. I didn't." Snotlout said, a little nervously.

"Gustav?" Hicca questioned.

"He fell off his dragon and we spent hours trying to get him out of the sand." The younger boy answered immediately.

"Gustav, make me punch you!" Snotlout demanded. Gustav did just that, only he made Snotlout punch himself instead of the boy.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut laughed at that. "Never gets old." Tuffnut said.

"Well, then, we know where to look. Let's go!" Hiccup said as he lead the team to the caves Snotlout was supposed to check.

The dragon riders arrived at the cave with Stormfly carrying a large cage to keep the leader of the Speed Stingers in. Hiccup, Hicca, Fishlegs and Raeda got off their dragons. Hiccup took out his shield while Hicca brought out her battle staff and Raeda had her bow ready. "Thanks, Gustav. You stay here with Snotlout and Hookfang." Hiccup said to the younger boy.

"Right." Snotlout answered, holding his right arm out to give a thumbs up. "Hey! I did that all by myself!" He realised happily.

Tuffnut took the chance and shoved Snotlout's still-extended arm right into his face. He and Ruffnut chuckled at that.

"Okay, gang, we have to move fast, because it will be sundown soon, and we need to get that Lead Stinger out of there. Without him, the pack is useless." Hiccup reminded the team.

He, Hicca, Raeda, Fishlegs, Midnight and Toothless then walked slowly and quietly into the cave. They looked around for the lead Stinger, being careful not to wake up the rest of the Stingers.

Fishlegs got the others attention. "Guys, there he is." He said, pointing to the Speed Stinger sleeping around a stalactite. The Stinger was clearly the leader of the pack as the red highlights on the scales separate it from the other Speed Stingers.

Hiccup raised his shield and fired the bola at the lead Stinger, tying it up. "Got him." He said. Toothless then climbed up near the stalactite and brought the Stinger quietly to the ground without waking it or any of the other Stingers. The four teens started dragging the Stinger out of the cave, but none of them and the two dragons ever noticed the lead Stingers eyes opening.

Fishlegs looked back as they were walking out of the cave and noticed that the lead Stinger was wide awake and fully aware of what was going on. "Um, guys?" Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda turned around and saw that not only was the lead Stinger awake, but the rest of his pack were awake as well!

Hicca, Hiccup and Fishlegs quickly dragged the leader out of the cave while Raeda helped Midnight and Toothless keep the rest of the Stingers back by shooting arrows at them.

"Get this Stinger into the cage right away!" Hiccup instructed frantically. But the leader suddenly broke free from the ropes and roared at the three teens. It tried to sting them but luckily they were able to dodge it. Toothless then came to their rescue and fired a plasma blast at the Stinger, keeping it away from the teens.

The lead Stinger then roared to the rest of its' pack, telling them to come out. The others were going to only to be blocked by a wall of fire, which luckily was set after Midnight and Raeda made it out of that cave.

The teens looked up and saw Snotlout, Gustav and Hookfang in the air. The Jorgenson boy recovered from the paralysis and was the one who had his dragon make the fire wall, having reclaimed the drivers seat. "That's right. Snotlout, Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!" As he chanted while pumping his fists up, the lead Stinger jumped up and stings Snotlout, paralysing him once again. "Oh, come on!" The Jorgenson boy managed to say before he was completely paralysed.

Midnight and Toothless then confronted the leader.

"He's too fast, Hiccup and Hicca!" Fishlegs warned.

"Not for a Night Fury!" Hiccup countered.

"They've got this." Hicca said with full confidence.

The lead Stinger then tried to sting Toothless and Midnight, but both Night Furies were able to dodge swiftly, proving Hiccups' point. The leader then decided to go after the Haddock twins instead and tried to sting them, but Hiccup was able to protect himself and his sister thanks to his Gronckle Iron shield. But the Stinger knocked the shield out of Hiccups' hands. Luckily Toothless was fast enough to catch the shield in his mouth and toss it back to his human, who caught it. "Thanks, bud." Hiccup said. He then got on the saddle. "Astrid, follow us!"

Astrid caught on his plan. "I think I know where you're going with this." She got on Stormfly and the two quickly worked to help Toothless and Hiccup executed their plan. First Toothless fired a few plasma blasts to get the Speed Stinger to move back, then Stormfly shot a line of spikes to make the Stinger move right into the cage that was already set up. One final blast from Toothless locked the leader into its' new prison

"Yes! Got him!" Hiccup exclaimed in triumph.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Stingers were not about to lose their leader. The rest of the pack jumped over the fire wall and surrounded all the Dragon Riders and Dragons. Now the riders faced a new dilemma, how could they fly the lead Stinger out of there without getting stung by the other Stingers?

"Hiccup, Hicca, there's just too many of them! We're surrounded!" Astrid said.

"Well, if anyone has any ideas, no matter how crazy it may sound, now would be a good time to speak up." Hicca said, looking at the all the Stingers surrounding them.

Help did come, but not from any of the teens, their dragons or Gustav, but from Stoick the Vast and Thornado! The former having finally recovered from his paralysis. The Thunderdrum gave out a sonic roar, causing the Speed Stingers to back away from the group.

"Dad, you're okay." Hiccup said, looking up to his dad.

"Thank goodness!" Hicca said, sighing in relief.

"You two didn't think I'd let both of you have all the fun, did you?" Stoick remarked as Thornado landed. The chief got off his dragon and walked to the cage, glaring down at the lead Stinger. "Remember me?" He turned back to his kids. "Now get him off my island."

"You heard the chief." Hiccup said.

"Astrid will you do the honors?" Raeda offered.

"With pleasure." Astrid accepted. Stormfly grabbed the cage with her claws and flew to ocean where there was still a path of ice formed above the water. Predictably the rest of the Speed Stingers ran after the duo, trying to get to their leader, but they still weren't ready to give up yet.

One of the Speed Stingers jumped up and stung Stormfly, causing the blue Nadder to fall on the ice, dropping the cage. Luckily for Astrid, the rest of the dragon riders were with her

"We'll get the cage! Ruff, Tuff, cover Astrid!" Hiccup instructed as Toothless swooped in to grab the cage. The two of them then flew off, followed by the Speed Stingers with Hicca and Midnight following behind them to try keep the Stingers from getting close to them.

Just as the Speed Stingers were about to reach Astrid, the Thorston twins swooped in. "Incoming!" Tuffnut announced, just before Barf and Belch made a ring of fire around Astrid and Stormfly, protecting them from the Speed Stingers..

"Here we go!" Ruffnut cheered.

Midnight and Hicca continued to protect their boys from the Speed Stingers, until the wingless dragons decided to switch their target on the two girls. This forced Midnight to fly away, protecting her rider from the paralysing stings.

One of the Speed Stinger then tried to sting Hiccup, only to get his prosthetic leg instead. "Weren't expecting the old metal leg, were ya?" Hiccup commented. They were about to reach a safe place to drop the cage when another Speed Stinger jabbed Toothless' prosthetic tail, puncturing it and causing the boys to call. As they got up, they found themselves surrounded by Speed Stingers. Hiccup readied his shield, only to find it out of bolas. "Out of bolas. Toothless." The male Night Fury was about to blast the Stingers, until he found that he couldn't. "And no plasma blast. Great."

The Speed Stingers started closing in on the duo until a voice called out from above. "Hookfang, fire!" Was all the warning they got, before they dodged a fire blast. They moved away from the Haddock boy and the Night Fury and went towards their caged leader, allowing Hookfang to fire at the ice, creating a gap in the pathway from Berk and more importantly, keeping the Speed Stingers away from Berk.

"Nice shooting, Snotlout!" Hiccup praised.

"Ha! No problem, Hiccup." Snotlout said smugly.

He was suddenly pushed off his saddle and ended up hanging upside down from Hookfangs' neck again. "Yeah, no problem, Hiccup." Gustav repeated as he took over steering Hookfang again,

"Hey! Put me down! Repercussions! Repercussions!" Snotlout yelled as Gustav flew them back to Berk, with the older boy still hanging upside down.

With the threat of the Speed Stingers gone, the Dragon Riders were able to bring all the villagers back to Berk, where most of the victims have fully recovered from their paralysis. The ones who have recovered went to work on fixing the damages caused by the Stingers.

Stoick and Gobber were supervising. "Nasty creatures, those Speed Stingers." Stoick commented to Gobber.

"Aye, we have a few nasty creatures of our own around here." Gobber said.

The chief followed Gobbers' gaze and saw the Thorston twins and Gustav messing with a paralysed Snotlout. Having been recently stung, it will be a while for Snotlout to fully recover. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were not about to waste a good opportunity and kept spinning Snotlout around, with Gustav joining in on the fun. Right now Snotlout could only move his face, as he tried threatening them to stop messing with him, but to no avail.

With the blizzard gone, the ice has melted over the ocean, allowing Trader Johann to be able to continue his travels. Hiccup, Toothless, Hicca and Midnight dropped him off to his ship.

"Thank you guys again for the rescue, Master Hiccup and Mistress Hicca."

"No problem, Johann. I'm just glad everything's back to normal." Hiccup said.

"Well, as normal as it can be for us." Hicca added.

They were about to leave, when Johann stopped them "Oh, before you go, I have something for both of you. A little token of my appreciation." Johann took out a large bottle and a book and handed it to the twins. "Pure squid ink, wrestled from the colossal squid of the Northern Waters. And a copy of the research on herbal medicines by Eliya Thorn."

Hicca's eyes widened at the book. "Eliya Thorn, one of the most well-known healers in all of the Archipelago? This is golden. Thank you so much Trader Johann!" She squealed as she snatched up the book.

"Yeah, thanks, Johann." Hiccup said, graciously taking the bottle. He remembered Johanns' last visit, when he bought a bottle of ink, only to drop it before he could even use it. Looks like the trader came through with his promise.

"Yes, there is actually a wonderful story that goes along with that bottle." Johann said as he got ready for another story. "Ten summers ago, deep under the currents of the Northern Waters, I was staring directly into the black eye…"

But his audience wasn't really enthusiastic about listening to yet another story. "Hey, guys, what do you say we get out of here?" Hiccup said to the other three.

"Yes please." Hicca replied. "Sorry Johann, but we hear our dad calling us." The four of them left before Johann could say anything else.

"Wait, where are you guys going? I haven't finished my story yet. He was about to ingest me. Great big teeth!" Johann called out, wondering if they were going to come back.


	16. Tale of Two Dragons

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon except my OC's**

 **Chapter 16: Tale of Two Dragons**

This morning the Dragon Riders woke up to a very loud sound of a horn blowing. And they all knew very well what that meant.

Raeda shot out of bed as soon as she heard the sound. "Screaming Death alert! Come on, girl! We have to get going!"

Sparkfire was up and ready to go. As soon as Raeda got on they both flew to their assigned area.

At the Ingerman Household, Fishlegs jumped on Meatlug and urged her to fly. The only problem was the Gronckle was still fast asleep. "Wake up, girl! We gotta go! Come on, Meatlug, wake up!" Fishlegs pleaded, trying to shake his dragon back into consciousness.

At the Thorston Household, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were wide awake and were hanging upside-down, listening to the sound of the horn blowing.

"Ugh…what's that horn for? Please tell me it's breakfast," Tuffnut said to his twin, feeling a little hungry.

"It's for the Screaming Death!" Ruffnut informed her brother.

That made Tuffnut forget his hunger. "Whoa, that's way better!"

The blonde twins jumped to the ground and ran out to their dragon, Barf and Belch.

Astrid and Stormfly were in the air flying to the Great Hall as fast as they could when suddenly, Snotlout and Hookfang flew in front of them out of nowhere. Caught off-guard by the sudden appearance, Stormfly swayed a little behind the Jorgenson boy and his dragon.

"Snotlout, what are you doing?!" Astrid demanded with a glare.

"I'm sorry! Did I scare your girly little dragon?" Snotlout mocked.

"Out of my way! I have to get to the Great Hall." Astrid snapped, clearly not amused by Snotlouts' antics.

"No, you don't. I have to get to the Great Hall. You have to get to the armory," Snotlout retorted.

"Raeda's the one assigned to the armoury. Hiccup and Hicca assigned me to the Great Hall yesterday, you heard them," Astrid reminded Snotlout.

"Tell you what? Whoever gets there first, me, gets to guard it," Snotlout offered with a smirk.

"Fine with me," Astrid accepted. She was about to get Stormfly to speed up when she was suddenly hit in the face with a cod. "Snotlout!" She yelled. Her grip on Stormfly accidently made the blue Nadder fire a line of spines on one of the houses below.

"Ha! Ha! Astrid, I thought you liked cod!" Snotlout taunted. But his smug smile faded when he saw Astrid and Stormfly charging right at him and Hookfang.

Snotlout's sense of self-preservation kicked in and he urged Hookfang to fly faster to avoid the two enraged girls. Stormfly caught up with Hookfang and slammed him right into the roof of the Great Hall, setting the villagers in the building in shock and panic.

Having seen what just happened, Hicca, Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight landed in front of the Great Hall, where people started running out of the building. There was no doubt, the Haddock twins knew what the villagers were running from.

Hicca sighed as she watched the chaotic scene in front of her. "And to think we didn't assign Ruff and Tuff to the Great Hall to avoid something like this." She said to her brother.

Hiccup groaned. This was definitely _not_ how he and his twin wanted their Screaming Death attack drill to go. " I can see our father's face already." He said to Hicca.

Pretty soon, Stoick the Vast was glaring at all eight members of the Dragon Academy lined up, having just got away from the viking mob that hounded him for the chaos Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout and Hookfang caused. Needless to say, the chief was not very happy with how things turned out.

"When you told me you'll be running a Screaming Death attack drill, I assumed you wouldn't actually try to destroy the entire village!" Stoick yelled as he walked in front of the the line.

"Technically, Chief it was just the Great Hall." Fishlegs meekly spoke up, trying to bring some kind of positive. That just earned him a glare from the chief, causing the blonde boy to shrink back. "And I'll let you take it from here."

Hiccup stepped up. "Dad, this was supposed to be a practice run, but it just got out of hand," He said.

"We were just supposed to see how well we respond to the Screaming Death alert and how fast we can get to our assigned posts." Hicca added.

"We're sorry." Hiccup said.

"Uh, sorry doesn't unburn Silent Sven's chest hair," Gobber piped in, pointing to said viking who was looking at his smoked chest.

"No, it certainly does not," Stoick agreed looking back at the teens. "Which brings me to your punishment."

And the punishment was to clear out Mildew's cabbage field.

Which was easier said than done as the field has been neglected ever since the old man betrayed Berk for Outcast Island. As a result, the field was littered with rocks and upturned trees and the cabbages were all spoilt and rotten.

"Yuck, Mildew's cabbage field," Astrid muttered in disgust.

"Dad has really stepped it up terms of punishment." Hicca said surveying the land.

Fishlegs picked up a spoilt cabbage and sniffed it. The putrid smell of the cabbage made him cringe in disgust and drop the cabbage. "Ooh, wow, this is revolting,"

Much to everyone's shock and disgust, the Thorston twins actually started eating the cabbage!

"Actually, it's not that bad," Ruffnut said, while chewing.

"Yeah, don't judge until you try it," Tuffnut said also with a mouthful of cabbage.

Hicca felt herself turning green. "Ugh, I'm going to be sick just watching you two." She dug through her bag and took out a small bottle. "Here this medicine is for your stomach." She said handing the bottle to Tuffnut.

Tuffnut took the bottle in confusion. "Why would we-" He didn't get to finish that question because he started throwing up. "Oh." Ruffnut immediately snatched that bottle from her puking twin and drank some of it before Tuffnut could recover.

"I don't see why we have to be the one to take care of the old traitors' stupid cabbage farm." Raeda said bitterly. "Why don't we just blow it up and say Ruffnut and Tuffnut did it?"

"We will take that credit with honor." Ruffnut piped in as her brother snatched back the medicine.

"Well, Rae, that's just going to get a worse punishment and I really don't want to imagine something worse than this." Hiccup said, before addressing all the dragon riders. "Alright, we need to get this field cleared and ready for planting by the end of the week. Astrid, Snotlout, you two break down and clear out the big boulders on the edge while-"

"Actually, that sounds more like a man's job," Snotlout interrupted, puffing his chest.

"You're right, Better give me Fishlegs instead." Astrid countered.

"Astrid, what do you see when you look around over here?" Snotlout asked, flexing his arms in a pose.

"Is that a serious question?" Astrid asked with a bored expression.

"You see 5,000 pounds of boulder crushing splendor," Snotlout answered, putting an arm around Hookfang's head.

"Just make sure you don't slow me down, boulder Boy," Astrid said hitting Snotlouts' helmet as walked past him to get on Stormfly.

Hookfang then shoved Snotlout away with his head.

"Something tells me we're going to need more than a week to finish." Raeda said.

"I wonder why." Hicca sighed, hoping this will go well but unfortunately for her she knows it's never easy for them.

Soon the teens and dragons got straight to work on the field.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had Barf and Belch dig up the ground.

Tuffnut saw the Zippleback digging with both its' heads and got an idea. "Hey, why do Barf and Belch get to have all the fun?" He asked his sister. "Everyone always tells us to use our heads."

"I was just thinking the exact same thing," Ruffnut agreed.

They both got off their dragon and started using their heads to dig in the dirt.

Fishlegs and Meatlug were gathering all the rocks and boulders scattered around the field. Meatlug looked at the pile of boulders hungrily.

Fishlegs noticed this. "Now, now, Meatlug. Those boulders are for catapulting, not for eating," He reminded the Gronckle. He then looked to see if anyone was watching before picking up on of the rocks. "But they do look delicious. Don't they?" He said, tossing the rock for Meatlug to eat.

Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda and their dragons worked together to clear the upturned trees and branches. Hiccup watched as the others did their jobs. "Looks like everything's going good here."

"I told you to stay out of my way. This is Viking work," Snotlout said to Astrid, getting Hiccup's attention. The Haddock boy along with his sister and best human friend look to see that Snotlout and Astrid have started yet another argument..

"Exactly, so what are you going here?" Astrid retorted.

Without warning, Hookfang fired a blast right at Astrid and Stormfly! Lucky neither girls got hit but it caused Stormfly to retaliate by firing back at Hookfang. It soon turned into a match between the Monstrous Nightmare and the blue Deadly Nadder.

Hiccup sighed. "Please don't say it."

"You so jinxed it." Raeda said.

"Seriously?" Hiccup asked in exasperation.

"Go fix your jinx up, bro." Hicca said.

Hiccup gave an exasperated look to the two girls before getting on Toothless. "Toothless, plasma blast," He ordered. The male Night Fury fired a plasma blast between the bickering Nadder and Monstrous Nightmare, hoping that it would make the two dragons back off. Unfortunately, it didn't as the two dragons continued to roar at each other. Hiccup then flew Toothless in between the two dragons

"Hookfang, stop! Heel!" Snotlout ordered trying to get his dragon to stop.

"Stormfly, calm down!" Astrid ordered doing the same for her dragon.

Then surprisingly Toothless for some reason also decided to join in the roaring match! "Bud, come one! We're trying to break up the fight not win it!" Hiccup said, wondering what has gotten into his dragon all of the sudden.

Fishlegs, Raeda and Hicca looked at the scene equally shocked. It was one thing for Stormfly and Hookfang to suddenly get aggressive, but for Toothless as well? Could there be some other reason for this?

"Guys, back your dragons away from each other!" Hiccup ordered Snotlout and Astrid.

"I'm trying!" Snotlout exclaimed, pulling at Hookfangs' horns.

"Well try harder!" Hiccup exclaimed back. Slowly Astrid, Hiccup and Snotlout managed to get their dragons to back away from each other. "Okay, everyone to the rock pile!"

The three teens guided their dragons to the designated spot. The moment they reached, the three dragons automatically calmed down.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for two of their riders.

"What is wrong with your dumb dragon?" Snotlout demanded to Astrid, getting off Hookfang.

"Guys," Hiccup said, stepping up to try and prevent yet another fight between the two teens.

He was ignored. "My dumb dragon? You're flaming Snotmare was trying to barbecue us!" Astrid retorted.

"Guys," Hiccup tried again.

"Snotmare, snotmare!" Snotlout yelled in disbelief. He then paused for a second. "I kind of like that," He admitted

"Ugh, you would," Astrid commented.

"Guys!" Hiccup yelled.

"I would huh," Snotlout said.

"Yeah, yeah you would!" Astrid exclaimed.

"How about I call your dragon ugly!" Snotlout challenged.

"I'll tell you who's ugly!" Astrid retorted.

A plasma blast was fired in between the two teens, causing them to stop their argument.

"Thanks girl." Hicca said to Midnight, patting her dragon.

"Oh, so now that works." Hiccup muttered before turning to Astrid and Snotlout. "Now would someone mind explaining what exactly was going on out there?"

"Simple. Hookfang and me were just trying to do our job when Stormfly went crazy and started shooting at us," Snotlout answered without hesitation.

Astrid just stared at the Jorgensen boy in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding, Hiccup, Stormfly and I were doing our job when this lunatic and his overgrown fire pit started touching us."

"Oh, come on. When have we ever started a fight just for the sake of starting a fight?" Snotlout asked. The other teens, even Ruffnut and Tuffnut, just stared at him, wondering if he actually wanted a reply. Snotlout then thought over his question. "Let me rephrase that."

"Never mind. Do you two think you can work together, yes or no?" Hiccup asked Snotlout and Astrid. The two teens just looked at each other and then walked away. "Good." Hiccup sighed, deciding to just be grateful they didn't start arguing again.

"Okay, that was weird," Fishlegs commented.

"Snotlout and Astrid trying to tear each other heads off was weird?" Hiccup questioned with raised eyebrows. This was definitely not the first time Astrid and Snotlout had an argument, despite the latter constantly flirting with the former.

"No, their dragons, Hiccup. As much as Astrid and Snotlout like to torture each other, Stormfly and Hookfang have always stand out of it," Fishlegs explained.

"He's right and what's more weird is that Toothless also joined in on the fight." Raeda pointed out.

"I agree with both of them. I think something is going on with the dragons." Hicca said.

Hiccup just shrugged. Honestly, he and his twin only wanted to prepare the others for a Screaming Death attack and they end up with _this_.

After a very long day working on the field, the teens and dragons all went home. Luckily they managed to make it by without any more troubles, but they still have much work to do in cleaning the field.

The Haddock twins were in their house giving dinner to their dragons.

"So, kids, how are things going in the field?" Stoick asked, while sharpening his axe.

"Oh, dad it could be going any better. We're really moving like a well-oiled catapult," Hiccup answered with fake enthusiasm.

"Yep, we've made really great progress today." Hicca added, playing along. No need for their dad to know how bad things are.

Stoick seemed unconvinced. "Oh, really? Well, word around paddock that Astrid and Snotlout are trying to turn the catapults on each other. Again."

Hiccup laughed nervously "Oh, that that's a minor… uh, disagreement. You know how they are," There was a knock on the door and Hiccup went to answer it. "In fact I'm sure they've already forgotten amount it."

"Let's hope," Stoick said.

Hiccup opened the door and there stood Astrid Hofferson. "Hiccup, I refuse to work with Snotlout," She said as soon as she saw the Haddock boy.

"Ooh, Astrid, what a beautiful night let's talk outside," Hiccup said quickly, in a desperate attempt to cover up. He closed the door, leaving his twin to receive a look from her father.

"Heh, heh, you know how Astrid is." Hicca said nervously, while mentally face-palming herself, because _seriously?_

"Uh, didn't we talk this out?" Hiccup asked Astrid, once he closed the door.

"You talked, we listened as usual, but I'm not going to put Stormfly in danger by working with that muttonhead, who can't even control his own dragon," Astrid said firmly, crossing her arms.

"Fine, fine, Hicca and I will deal with it tomorrow I promise," Hiccup reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Astrid smiled at that. "Thank you," She said.

"You're welcome," Hiccup said, as Astrid walked away.

He went back inside his house where his father gave him the same look he gave Hicca.

"Uh, just Academy business no big deal," He lied.

Then there was a bang at the door. "I got it." Hicca said, saving her brother the trouble.

She opened the door and surprise, surprise, there stood her cousin, Snotlout Jorgenson. "Hicca, I-"

Before he could say anything else, Hicca covered his face with her hand and push him as she stepped outside, closing the door behind her. "You are killing us here, Snotlout."

"Me! Astrid has totally lost control of her dragon! She's probably attached by my manly presence." He said, striking a pose.

"Seriously?" Hicca asked in disbelief.

"Hookfang sees it. Don't tell me you don't?" Snotlout said to his cousin. Hicca just gave him a blank look. "Never mind. Here's the deal…"

"Let me guess, you don't want to work with Astrid tomorrow," Hicca deadpanned.

"Exactly! Was that so hard, Hicca?" Snotlout said, thinking his cousin completely understands him. He started walking away with Hookfang. "Come on, Hookfang let's go think with our muscles."

Hicca sighed. At least it was a short talk. She went back inside and silently communicated to her twin that, yes Snotlout was hear for the same complaint.

Hiccup got the message and gave a frustrated sigh. Both twins turned to see their father looking at them.

"Problem son?" Stoick asked, though the question sounded rhetorical.

"Problem? What problem? No, no, no. Everyone is happy, everything is great," Hiccup lied, trying desperately to keep the facade up. Hicca just decided to take a seat with Midnight and Toothless, who were done with their meals.

"Good to hear," Stoick said.

"Yep, yep, yep, everything is right as rain," Hiccup reiterated.

"If you say so,"

"I do, I say so,"

"Three, two, one." Hicca muttered.

And Hiccup broke. "Oh fine, you win! Snotlout and Astrid are driving me completely insane! They're acting like mental cases! I actually don't know whose worse them or their dragons! I mean with the dragons you can lock them in their pens until they behave!"

'And he broke.' Hicca thought to herself as she watched her brother take deep breaths after the rant.

"Feel better?" Stoick asked his son.

"Uh, a little," Hiccup answered, as he regained control of his breathing.

"Dad, we need some advice on how ro handle this situation." Hicca said.

"Well, there's three ways to deal with Vikings who aren't getting along," Stoick started to explain as he stood up.

"We're all ears," Hiccup said.

"Option one: give them both axes and let them fight to the death," Stoick said raising his axe up high.." Stoick said, holding up his axe for emphasis.

The Haddock twins exchanged a look before looking back at their father. "That one sounds a tad… uh, permanent," Hiccup said hesitantly. "What's option number two?"

"You give them both maces and let them fight to the end," Stoick said, picking up the mace. He tossed the mace at Hiccup, who nearly fell at the weight of the weapon.

"Does option three happen to involve a weapon as well?" Hicca asked.

"Nope." Stoick answered. "It's quite devious and can have grisly repercussions. Then again it can go down like a treat, Or around fifty-fifty either way."

"We're listening," Hiccup and Hicca both said.

"You trick them into working together," Stoick said.

The Haddock twins exchanged another look, an idea already forming in their minds.

The next day, the teens went back to work on the cabbage field. Astrid and Stormfly were clearing out the field, the latter was satisfied not to see a certain someone and his dragon in sight. Stormfly walked them to a pile of sand where a sound from the other side of the hill caught Astrids' attention.

"Sh, did you hear that?" Astrid asked Stormfly.

Unbeknownst to her, Snotlout and Hookfang were on the other side of the hill and the Jorgenson boy also heard something from the opposite side.

"Wait, it's coming from the other side of that hill," He said to Hookfang.

Both dragons climbed up the hill to investigate and Astrid and Snotlout soon found themselves face to face with one another, It didn't take them long to put two and two together and realise that they had been duped.

"Why that little Hiccup and Hicca." Snotlout grumbled.

"Option three," Astrid muttered. Of course the twins would try to find a way to resolve her fued with Snotlout. "Argh, I should have seen that coming." She then looked back at Snotlout. "Well, Stormfly and I are going to prove that we're not the problem by working with you."

"Pfft, not as well as we're going to work with you. Right Hookfang," Snotlout scoffed.

They continued to work in silence.

Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda and Fishlegs were watching from a distance.

"I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own two eyes," Fishlegs said, amazed that the plan was working.

"Yeah, maybe today might actually go well." Hicca commented.

Suddenly without warning, Stormfly and Hookfang started roaring at each other again! Astrid and Snotlout tried to reign their dragons in, but the two teens got thrown off their saddles.

"Okay, this time it was you." Hiccup said to his twin.

Hicca simply groaned and facepalmed.

The Haddock twins, Astrid, Snotlout and, for some reason, the Thorston twins (most probably wanted an excuse to skip out on the work) gathered in the Academy to try a new approach to resolving the feud. Raeda and Fishlegs were back at the field trying to get some work done.

"Astrid, Snotlout, your dragons are out of control, but I think Hicca and I know why," Hiccup said to the two teens. "It's the day we have feared would come."

"Your dragons have picked up on your animosity to each other and now they are behaving the same way." Hicca explained.

"Is it my fault that me and Hookfang are so in sync?" Snotlout asked. Hookfang responded by blowing smoke at his rider.

Hiccup grabbed his cousins' shoulder and led him away from Hookfang. "But you have just giving us an idea." He continued, leading Snotlout to Stormfly.

"You both need to walk a mile in each other's shoes." Hicca said, walking Astrid over to Hookfang. "Or in this case saddles,"

"You two are going to swap dragons for the day," Hiccup concluded.

"What!?" Snotlout and Astrid exclaimed in disbelief. Clearly neither of them were so keen on the plan.

"That's right." Hicca said.

"It's a girl dragon," Snotlout complained. Stormfly growled at him for that statement.

"If you can learn to understand each other's dragons, then maybe you can learn to understand each other." Hicca explained.

"This is not work well with my manliness," Snotlout complained.

"You can take the day off and just get to know your new best friend," Hiccup offered.

That got the blonde twins' attentions. "Hey, does that mean if we start fighting then we get the day off too?" Tuffnut asked. "Because we will, watch."

The twins immediately began fighting with each other. Barf and Belch decided to follow their riders' example and the heads of the Zippleback started fighting against each other.

"You guys have been like this ever since you've both learned to use a weapon. There's no way to fix that." Hicca said.

"The four of us, Raeda and Fishlegs are going to head out to the field and keep working," Hiccup said as he walked over to Toothless. "Our dad wants it done in time for planting."

Reluctantly, Astrid and Snotlout got on their new dragon friend and took separate flights to different areas around Berk.

Although Snotlout was definitely not thrilled to be flying on Stormfly, his opinion soon changed when he saw how fast the blue Nadder can fly. "Wow, Stormfly you are one fast dragon. I mean Hookfang is fast, but you are like racy fast." The Jorgenson boy was clearly impressed, not that he would tell anyone, especially not Astrid.

He then noticed that they were flying straight into a yak that was on top of a sea stack. "Fast doesn't mean anything if you can't STOP!" He yelled at the last word, hoping to avoid a crash.

Luckily for him, Stormfly had enough experience to be able to come to a complete stop right before the yak. Snotlout, being unprepared, flew right out of the saddle and soon found himself dangling at the ledge on the other side of the sea-stack.

"Okay, you can stop on a yak." Snotlout commented before looking down. "Little help?"

Astrid and Hookfang decided to fly through the forest of Berk. "So, Snotlout's always bragging about how much fire power you Nightmares have." Astrid said to Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare snorted in agreement. "Let's see what you got big boy."

Hookfang blasted at a nearby tree which so much firepower that all that remained was a charred stump.

Astrid looked at the charred stump in awe "Whoa! Incredibly dangerous, but cool."

Back at the sea-stacks, Snotlout also decided to test Stormflys' firepower.

"Okay, you think you can bring the heat? Let's see how you do it Stormfly," Snotlout challenged.

Stormfly fired at a nearby sea-stack, her flame was so strong that it melted the sea-stack into the ocean.

"Whoa! I got to say that's pretty hot," Snotlout said, clearly impressed.

Back in the forest, Astrid then decided to test Hookfangs' manoeuvrability.

"Okay, wing span duly noted, not too much flaming, tail looks good." Astrid listed, examining Hookfang while they were flying through the trees. She looked ahead and saw that they were flying right into a fallen tree!

"Tree!" The blonde girl quickly yanked on Hookfang's horns to get him to stop. Luckily he stopped just in time, but surprisingly his wings flapped with so much power that it sent the fallen tree flying.

Astrid and Hookfang were both surprised to see that.

"Wow! I didn't know you could do that. Did you know you could do that?" Astrid asked Hookfang. "I bet Snotlout doesn't know you can do that." Clearly Snotlout didn't know about it otherwise Astrid and the other dragon riders wouldn't hear the end of it.

Astrid smirked at the thought of knowing something about Hookfang that not even Snotlout himself knew.

Meanwhile Snotlout and Stormfly continued to fly through the sea-stacks. "Whoa! Okay, this is pretty fun." The Jorgenson boy admitted. "I can definitely get use to this." He patted Stormfly at the back of her neck. It apparently was a sensitive spot for the blue Nadder and it caused her to shoot a single spine shot at a sea-stack ahead of her. Snotlout was surprised to see that because in the past, both Stormfly and Sparkfire always fired multiple spine-shots at once.

"Wow, bull's-eye shot with a single shot." Snotlout said to Stormfly. "Bet Astrid and Raeda don't know how to do that." Clearly neither of the two girls would know that move otherwise they would have thought to use it at some point during their missions or training. "Let's do it again."

Stormfly flew them around until they were flying straight at the sea-stack again. Snotlout patted the same spot on Stormflys' neck and got the same result, with the second spine slicing right through the first one in the exact same position. "Oh, stop it. Now you just showing off, which is fine by me. I'm all about showing off," Snotlout said, having more fun with Stormfly then he thought he would.

The day was coming to an end and Hicca, Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight were at the Academy waiting for Snotlout, Stormfly, Astrid and Hookfang to come back.

"Do you this plan worked." Hicca asked her twin.

"Well, we haven't heard anyone screaming about a Deadly Nadder or a Monstrous Nightmare on a rampage in the village, so I'd take that as a good sign." Hiccup answered.

They looked up and saw both Hookfang and Stormfly flying in.

"So, how was it?" Hiccup asked with a hopeful expression.

"Stormfly flies pretty good, I mean for a girl." Snotlout said nonchalantly. As much as he was impressed with the blue Deadly Nadder, he would never admitted it out loud or he would have to deal with Astrids' smug look. "And she does melt solid rock in like half a second which is cool."

"She does indeed." Hiccup agreed, relieved that Snotlout wasn't insulting Stormfly.

"What about you Astrid?" Hicca asked, turning to the blonde shield maiden.

"I guess Hookfang is pretty powerful and he's easy to fly, which is good if you have little talent." Astrid said causally, also having the same idea as Snotlout.

"Yeah, and I have little talent," Snotlout agreed before he thought over the last comment. "Wait!"

"Well, it sounds like you both have a better appreciation for each other's dragons," Hicca said.

Astrid and Snotlout just looked at each other with unreadable expressions.

"So that means maybe tomorrow you'll cut each other some slack?" Hiccup asked, both he and his twin had hopeful expressions.

"Yeah, I guess," Astrid muttered unenthusiastically.

"Fine!" Snotlout muttered with equal energy. "Can we go now?"

He and Astrid both walked out of the Academy, ready to call it night. But not before the two teens each snuck a look back at their newfound friend.

The Haddock twins watch them both leave.

"Well, at least they're not at each others throats." Hicca commented.

"Yep, this situation needs baby steps." Hiccup agreed.

The next morning Fishlegs and Raeda got to the field before the others did. They were both convinced that there was something else that was making Stormfly and Hookfang get aggressive and decided to investigate.

"Here we are, the scene of the crime. Stormfly and Hookfang only got aggressive whenever they were in this field." Raeda noted, looking around.

"Let's see if we can find out why." Fishlegs said. He looked at the ground and found something. "Nadder prints excellent."

"Monstrous Nightmare prints right here." Raeda said.

The two teens followed the footprints right to the spot where the two dragons first started attacking each other.

"This is where the trouble started," Fishlegs stated.

Suddenly to Fishlegs and Raedas' surprise, Sparkfire gave out a sudden roar and started shooting spikes everywhere!

"Sparkfire?!" Raeda called out worriedly. Fishlegs quickly hid behind Meatlug to avoid getting impaled while Raeda tried to calm her dragon down while dodging the spikes.

In this situation, the Henderson girl was actually glad that her fellow Nadder rider decided to have a spine dodging exercise. She avoided all the spines shot at her and leapt right into the saddle. Remembering the last incident, the raven-haired girl manage to pull Sparkfire away from that spot, where the purple Nadder immediately began to calm down.

"Okay, first Stormfly and Hookfang then Toothless and now Sparkfire." Fishlegs said, coming out of hiding. "And all four dragons calmed down when they are away from this area."

"And whatever it is, it's not affecting Meatlug." Raeda added.

"That's right." Fishlegs said, looking at his dragon, who was in the middle of digging in the ground, as if searching for something. When she finished, she moved out of the way, allowing Fishlegs to see what she found.

Fishlegs' eyes widened at what he saw. "I know what's been causing the dragons to act aggressively!"

In the Academy, Astrid and Snotlout were both trying to sneak in to feed their new friends. While they were both checking to see if the coast was clear, they both accidently bumped into each other, causing them to jump back in shock and hide their food behind their backs.

"What are you doing here?" Astrid asked.

"Nothing. What are you doing here?" Snotlout countered.

Astrid tried to think of an excuse, when she suddenly noticed the chicken leg Snotlout was hiding behind his back. "Is that chicken? Stormfly's favourite." She then raised her eyebrows at the Jorgensen boy. "Did you come here to feed my dragon?"

"No." Snotlout said a bit too quickly. "Maybe… yeah. Wait, what are you doing here? I smell something fishy."

Astrid sighed in defeat and brought out the fish she hid behind her back. "Fine. Maybe I bought Hookfang a little breakfast."

"He loves breakfast. That was actually, well nice of you," Snotlout admitted.

The two teens then had the same realisation. "You like my dragon!" They said in unison.

There was an awkward pause before Snotlout spoke up. "Don't tell anyone, okay."

"Deal," Astrid agreed.

They both entered the Academy, but were shocked to find that Stormfly and Hookfangs' pens were holding open and empty!

"Our dragons are gone!" Astrid gasped.

They wasted no time telling the Haddock twins and the auburn twins, along with the Thorston twins gathered at the Academy.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut, for some reason, decided to take it upon themselves to lecture Snotlout and Astrid for their "carelessness".

"We've done a lot of dumb things in our lives, but we have never lost a dragon," Tuffnut said. "Not a whole one."

"I am very disappointed in you young lady," Ruffnut said to Astrid, with her hands on her hips.

Astrid growled in annoyance because _seriously?_ It was bad enough that Stormfly was missing, but now the blonde girl was getting lectured by the Thorston twins of all people?

"Okay, okay they can't be far. We'll split up and-" Hiccup began to say.

That's when Raeda and Fishlegs flew in.

"No need for that." Raeda said.

"We might know where they are," Fishlegs said.

The group flew to the cabbage field with Astrid riding with Hiccup and Snotlout riding with Hicca. They arrived at the field where they found Stormfly and Hookfang circling each other right around the hole Meatlug dug up earlier. Both dragons were getting ready to fight each other.

"We need to break this up," Snotlout said.

"Who knows what they'll do to each other," Astrid agreed, worried for the two dragons below.

"I'm open to ideas," Hiccup said.

"Drop me in," Astrid ordered.

Hiccup flew closer to the field allowing Astrid jump off Toothless and land safely.

"Me too," Snotlout ordered.

Hicca did the same thing as her brother, allowing Snotlout to jump.

"Raeda, Fishlegs, how did you two know they were going to be here?" Hiccup asked the two teens.

"We came back here to see if there was something else that was causing Hookfang and Stormfly to act this way." Raeda explained.

"And we were right, it's the field." Fishlegs said.

"We've been to a lot of fields," Hicca pointed out.

"But this is the only field that has _that._ " Raeda said, pointing to the ground.

The auburn twins looked to where she was pointing and saw that in the dug-up hole was a green, stump-like plant. They were both familiar with what they were saying.

"Dragon root." Hiccup and Hicca both said as everything started falling into place.

"Not dragon root, that is terrible," Tuffnut gasped.

"You don't actually know what dragon root is do you?" Hiccup asked.

"Not even slightly. Not even the faintest. I mean I think I know what 'dragon' means," Tuffnut said.

"Dragon root has a stronger effect for dragons than dragon nip." Hicca explained.

Fishlegs continued the explanation. "Dragons crave it, but instead of making them happy and calm, it makes them-"

"Want to rip each other a part wing from wing," Tuffnut finished.

"Exactly," Fishlegs said.

"Cool," Ruffnut said, eyeing the dragon root with interest.

"Sounds good. Do they have it for people?" Tuffnut asked.

"Like you two even need it." Raeda commented.

"We can't leave Astrid and Snotlout down there," Hiccup said. "We have to help."

"But how? If we get closer, then our dragons will get affected as well." Hicca pointed out.

On the ground, Astrid and Snotlout tried their hardest to calm their own dragons without getting hurt.

"Stormfly, calm down. It's me, everything is okay," Astrid reassured, before dodging Stormfly's spiky tail.

Snotlout tried to jump on his saddle, but Hookfang dodged, making his rider fall into the dirt.

"They're ignoring us," Snotlout said to Astrid, after spitting some dirt out of his mouth. The teens watched as their dragons started firing at each other. "How do we get their attention?"

"Well, I have an idea, but it's stupid and reckless," Astrid said.

"You had me at stupid," Snotlout said excitedly.

The two dragons continued to fight each other when suddenly, Astrid and Snotlout ran right in between the two dragons.

"Stormfly, if you're going to attack him you'll have to go through me," Astrid said firmly, standing in front of the blue Nadder and holding out her arms.

Snotlout did the same for Hookfang. "Look Hookfang, we both know you can totally kick Stormfly's tail, but if you want to try you'll have to go through me," Snotlout said holding his arms out.

They both managed to calm their own dragons down, knowing well that their dragons would never hurt them on purpose. The two teens then slowly pushed their dragons back away from the dragon root.

"Astrid, Snotlout, what are they doing?" Fishlegs asked, as he and the others watched from the sky.

"I'm not sure, but I think they might be acting like a team," Hiccup said in amazement.

"Who would've thought?" Raeda said, equally amazed.

"Looks like something good did come from this whole debacle." Hicca said. "Now the only thing left is to get rid of the dragon root."

"How are we going to do that though? It's like you said sis, our dragons can't go near the dragon root without going crazy." Hiccup pointed out.

"That's not exactly true, Hiccup. Meatlug didn't go crazy," Fishlegs informed him.

"Maybe Meatlugs rock diet makes her immune to the Dragon Roots effects," Raeda suggested.

The four teens and their dragons got a shock when Barf and Belch suddenly fired at them. Luckily Toothless, Meatlug, Midnight and Sparkfire got their riders out of the way just in time.

"What are you two doing?" Raeda asked.

"They're out of control!" The blonde twins said.

Barf and Belch were indeed, out of control, as they started hovering close enough to the dragon root to experience the effects. The Zippleback continued to fire at the other uncontrollably.

"You're too close to the dragon root!" Hiccup yelled. "Pull up!"

"Pull up? Are you crazy?" Ruffnut yelled back, clinging onto Barf's head, which was thrashing about.

"Yeah, this is awesome," Tuffnut agreed, also holding onto Belch's head, which was also thrashing about.

"Yeah, not so awesome for the rest of us." Hicca said, as she and Midnight continued to dodge the fire along with the others still flying.

"I'm going for the root," Fishlegs said as Meatlug dove down towards the dragon root. "Cover us!"

Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda, Toothless, Midnight and Sparkfire held off Barf and Belch the best that they could, allowing Fishlegs and Meatlug the chance to get the dragon root out of there safely.

"Come on, girl. Lift with your legs," Fishlegs encouraged as the Gronckle struggled to pulled the root from the ground.

A gas and spark fire went off a few feet near the hole. The Ingerman boy looked up and saw the auburn twins and Raeda getting knocked back with their dragons from the blast as the blonde twins continued to hold onto their out-of-control dragon for dear life but also enjoying themselves amidst the chaos.

"This is scary, but in a good way! Tuffnut yelled.

Barf let out some gas at Fishlegs and Meatlug, but luckily Meatlug got herself and her rider to safety before Belch sparked the gas.

The Zippleback then dived down for the dragon root but were knocked off course by two plasma blasts. Sparkfire then shot some spines to keep the Zippleback further away from the dragon root.

"We're so sorry about this!" Hicca and Hiccup both yelled.

"We're not," Ruffnut and Tuffnut both yelled back, still hanging on to Barf and Belch for dear life.

"This is the best day ever!" Tuffnut added.

"Hurry up Fishlegs!" Hiccup yelled.

Meatlug and Fishlegs flew back into the hole and resumed trying to get the dragon root out, still no luck.

"She can't do it by herself," Fishlegs exclaimed.

"Yeah! In coming! Tuffnut yelled.

Fishlegs looked up and saw Barf starting to spread gas around the blonde teen and the Gronckle. It was only a matter of time before the other head sparked the gas.

Astrid Snotlout, Hookfang and Stormfly were watching the whole scene at a safe distance.

"I think we better do something," Snotlout said to Astrid.

"For once I actually agree with you," Astrid said.

"But if we get to close our dragons will start fighting again," Snotlout pointed out.

Astrid thought for a moment before speaking up. "I think I have an idea," She said.

"Is it stupid and reckless?" Snotlout asked with a hopeful expression.

"Maybe even a little bit crazy," Astrid answered.

"Loving it!" Snotlout exclaimed

Barf continued to spread gas around Fishlegs and Meatlug, until Stormfly suddenly flew by and knocked the Zippleback away.

"Astrid! You are a sight for sore eyes," Fishlegs said in relief.

However, when Stormfly turned around, Fishlegs and the others saw that it actually wasn't Astrid who was riding Stormfly.

"Who are you calling Astrid?" Snotlout called out.

"Snotlout! What?!" Fishlegs exclaimed in shock. _Snotlout_ was riding _Stormfly_? And Astrid's letting this happen? "Where's Astrid?"

"Looking for me?" Astrid called. Fishlegs looked and, to add to his confusion, found Astrid riding _Hookfang_!

Raeda, Hicca and Hiccup were equally surprised. "Astrid what are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"We switched dragons again. It's the only way we can keep them from fighting with each other," Astrid explained.

"He can sniff dragon root all day, but Hookfang would never attack Snotlout, he respects me too much," Snotlout boasted.

Then Barf and Belch came back and started spreading some more gas around the area.

That's when Astrid decided to use the new secret weapon.

"Do it Hookfang, wing blast!" Astrid ordered.

Hookfang then slammed his wings which such a force, just like how he did yesterday. This created a blast of wind that was so strong that it knocked Barf and Belch to the ground.

The blonde twins cheered at that before they slumped on their dragons.

Snotlout looked up at Hookfang and Astrid in surprise. "What was that?" He asked.

"You mean this?" Astrid asked and Hookfang did another wing blast.

This time the force of the wind cleared all of Barf's gas away allowing Meatlug to continued to try and pull the dragon root out. But it was still no use.

"It's still stuck!" Astrid yelled.

Then Barf and Belch recovered from their fall and flew back to the group, ready to start some more explosions.

"Seriously? The one time I decide not to bring my bow and arrows?!" Raeda exclaimed, frustrated at herself for that mistake.

Her comment gave Snotlout an idea. "Don't worry, Rae. I've got this. Stormfly single spine shot!"

Snotlout patted his hand on the same spot on Stormflys' neck, causing the Deadly Nadder to shoot a single spine right at the bottom of the dragon root separating it from the ground and allowing Meatlug to take it to the air. Barf and Belch tried to follow, only to be held back by the tails by Toothless, Midnight and Sparkfire.

Astrid and Raeda were both surprised at the new move, wondering if their dragons were always able to do that.

"Good job guys," Hiccup said to the team. He then looked up to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, can you take it from here?"

"Dragon root, flying out," Fishlegs said, happy that the mayhem is finally over. He and Meatlug out to sea to find a safe place to dispose the dragon root.

Once they were reassured that the dragon root was a good distance away, the others flew back home with Astrid and Snotlout still on each others' dragons, deciding that they were done for the day.

"You do realise what happened right?" Hiccup asked Astrid and Snotlout.

"We totally kicked butt," Snotlout answered confidently.

"Exactly," Hicca said. "And you did it together."

"Astrid and Snotlout working together as a team, who would have thought," Raeda said.

"Huh, not me," Tuffnut piped in. "I try not to think."

There was an awkward silence as Astrid and Snotlout looked at each other, both of them realising that for the very first (and probably last) time, the two of them were in perfect sync.

"That was some fancy flying on my dragon," Astrid admitted.

"You know how it is, chicks dig me," Snotlout said smugly.

"Yeah, that must be it," Astrid said, deciding to humor him for once.

Snotlout paused for a second before speaking seriously. "Hookfang isn't always the easiest dragon to fly Astrid. I have to admit, I'm impressed."

Astrid smiled in appreciation to the comment. "So, do you think I can have my dragon back now?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Snotlout said.

Both teens jumped of their current saddles and landed back on the saddles they belonged to.

"Good to see you again girl," Astrid said rubbing Stormfly's back.

"Ah, did you miss me?" Snotlout asked hugging Hookfang's head, before lowering his voice. "We can do something about the girl smell later."

The next day, the Dragon Riders continued on their field work with Stoick their to supervise. With the dragon root gone and Astrid and Snotlout resolving their conflict, the work has been going much smoothly.

Astrid walked up to Snotlout. "So, Snotlout can you teach me how to do that single spine attack?" She asked. Raeda had already figured out that moved having noted the fact that Snotlout patted the back of Stormfly's neck before the Nadder made the shot. It didn't take long for the raven-haired girl to find that same spot on Sparkfire.

"I don't know if you can handle it," Snotlout said with a smirk. "Why don't you show me that wing clap thingy first then I'll think about it."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Astrid asked with raised eyebrows.

"How stupid is there?" Snotlout asked.

The two teens chuckled at their banter while the Haddock twins and their dad was watching them.

"Option three," Stoick said. "Not as exciting as one and two…"

"But sure goes down like a treat," Hiccup and Hicca finished.


	17. The Eel Effect

**A/N: Whew! Done with this chapter and I'm getting close to finishing this story! I'm excited what about you guys. The next chapter will be an original. I didn't plan to do that at first, but I got sudden inspiration. Until then, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from 'How To Train Your Dragon' except for my OCs.**

 **Chapter 17: The Eel Effect**

Berk is currently facing an epidemic of Eel Pox, a disease which symptoms include sneezing, coughing shivering and in some cases, hallucinations. The only ones in Berk who haven't been affected by the Eel Pox yet were the teens, the dragons and Gothi.

In the Great Hall, Hicca was with Midnight tending to the sick as best as she could. Unfortunately for the aspiring healer, without the ingredients for a cure, she could only offer them comfort and warm soups and tea. Hopefully she and the others will be able to get all the ingredients fast so that she and Gothi could make the cure.

Fishlegs then came inside the Great Hall. "Hicca, Astrid went to pick up Gothi. She'll meet us at the academy." He informed her.

"Oh, good. The sooner we can get this cure ready the better." Hicca said, serving a bowl of soup to Silent Sven. She then turned to address the crowd. "Don't worry everyone! Will be back soon with the cure. Until then, stay here and stay warm. Help yourself to some soup and tea. Scarlett will be here to keep the cauldrons and fire warm." The sick vikings all gave weak mutters, letting her know that they will follow her instructions. Hicca then nodded and got on Midnight. "All right, girl. Let's go." She and Midnight flew with Fishlegs and Meatlug to the Academy where the others were preparing for their trip to get the ingredients. "You ready, gang?"

"Ready to leave Berk during an outbreak of eel pox?" Snotlout asked, rhetorically. "Hmm, let me think, let me think, let me think. I'd say that's a big fat 'yes'."

"We packed the supplies we need, we'll leave as soon as Astrid and Gothi get here." Hiccup said to his sister.

"The sooner, the better. I do not want to get sick." Tuffnut said.

"And if he gets sick, I get sick." Ruffnut said.

"You do?" Tuffnut asked in surprise.

Ruffnut got a sly smile on her face. "Yeah, we're twins."

"So wait. If I slap myself, then would you feel it?" Tuffnut asked.

That was exactly what Ruffnut was hoping he would think. "Definitely. Give it a try."

Tuffnut then turned to the Haddock twins. "Is it true?"

"Tuffnut, you're sister is just…" Hiccup started to answer, before he saw Ruffnuts' pleading face behind her twin. He sighed in defeat. Might as well let Ruffnut have this. "Yeah sure."

"Cool." Tuffnut said with a laugh before punching himself

Ruffnut fake-winced. "Ow! Do it again."

 _Punch_

 _Punch_

Ruffnut faked-winced with each punch. "Do it again, harder."

"Gladly." Tuffnut said, through his daze.

 _Punch_ "Uh, didn't feel that one."

"Here." _Punch_. Ruffnut fake-groaned at that as Tuffnut fell to the ground. "Do it again." _Punch_

Raeda decided to step in. "Knock it off, guys. We're leaving to Healers' Island as soon as Astrid and Gothi get here and we need everyone to help out."

"Hiccup! Hicca!" A loud voice coughed out.

The Haddock twins turned to see their father walking in the Academy, sniffling.

"Dad! The whole 'stay in the Great Hall' order applies to everyone who is sick, including you." Hicca reminded her father.

"Hicca's right, Dad, you should be resting up." Hiccup agreed.

"Nonsense." Stoick managed to say as he coughed. He gave a big sneeze on Hiccup, which the younger boy was able to protect himself from using his shield. "I won't be grounded by the sniffles."

That's when Astrid and Gothi flew into the Academy. "We've got the list of ingredients, and it's a big one." Astrid said, holding the long parchment.

"Well, then we better get moving." Hiccup said.

"Yep, that medicine isn't gonna make itself." Hicca agreed.

"I should be going with you." Stoick insisted, before he sneezed again.

"Dad, Berk needs a healthy chief, not a sick dragon rider. We can handle this." Hiccup reassured.

"You better be in the Great Hall resting by the time we get back." Hicca said sternly as she and the others got on their dragons.

Stoick coughed. "All right. I'll stay here with the rest of the invalids. Be safe, kids."

"When are we not safe?" Hiccup asked. Stoick just gave his son a look that said 'seriously?'. Even Hicca gave her twin a look of disbelief. "Uh, don't answer that!" He amended. He and the others flew off to their destination.

Pretty soon, they landed and Hicca took the time to look around the island in admiration. "Ah, Healers' Island. This land has the best climate and conditions to grow all the different types of medicinal herbs." She stated

Hiccup got the list of ingredients from Astrid and gathered the others in a circle. "Okay, gang, we've got a lot of ground to cover. Let's get to work."

With guidance from Hicca and Gothi, the teens went to work gathering their assigned ingredients.

Snotlout found a plant and now needed Hookfang to lightly roast it. "Buckthorn root."

Hookfang give a fireball at Snotlout, giving the full blast to Snotlout and just enough heat for the plant. "Lightly roasted." Snotlout coughed out. "Hookfang…" Was all he managed to say before dodging another fireball from the snickering dragon.

Fishlegs and Meatlug successfully gathered their assigned ingredients. "A dozen rock blossoms." Fishlegs decided to reward Meatlug for her work. "Hmm, 12 rocks for 12 rock blossoms." Meatlug happily ate up all the rocks. Astrid, Raeda, Hicca and Hiccup were also successful in gathering their ingredients.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut took a longer time getting their ingredients because Tuffnut had trouble climbing up a ledge for a wild Daga plant. "One wild Daga plant _._ " Tuffnut grunted as he repeatedly got hit in the face with rocks falling from above. "There's got to be an easier... oof! (grunts) way to do th… Ouch! Ow! Ow!" Unbeknownst to him, his twin and their dragon were already on top of them ledge, sitting next to said plant. Ruffnut was actually the one throwing the rocks down at Tuffnut.

Soon the Dragon Riders regrouped with all the ingredients they were suppose to get.

"Think that's everything, right?" Hiccup asked Hicca and Gothi, who were looking at all the ingredients.

Hicca shook her head. "We're missing one."

Fishlegs look at the inscription Gothi made in the sand. "She says the last item isn't on Healer's island. The key ingredient for curing eel pox is a blood-bane eel. Where do we find one of those?"

"Well, great. 'Cause we're not gonna be able to search the whole ocean this afternoon. We need at least a long weekend for that, you know? Maybe even into Monday night." Tuffnut rambled on before Gothi hit him in the head with her staff. The elderly then drew something in the sand.

"She says, 'don't interrupt'." Hicca translated. Gothi continued to draw as Hicca took over translating. "We have to head North to…" She gasped as she saw the name of the place. "Eel island."

All the dragons cringed at the very name.

"Our dragons would never go near Eel island." Astrid pointed out. "They're terrified of eels."

"And it will take us too long to get there by ship." Raeda said.

"You're right. Toothless and I will go alone." Hiccup whined in complaint. "I know, bud. Eels aren't your favorite, but you're the fastest dragon. We'll find this eel, and be back to Berk in no time. No problem."

"Midnight and I will come with you." Hicca insisted.

"No sis. You need to go back to Berk and take care of sick vikings. Start working on the cure and Toothless and I will be back with the final ingredient." Hiccup said, as he got on Toothless.

"Good luck." Fishlegs said to Hiccup before the auburn boy left.

Raeda then realized something. "Wait, Hiccup! You've got all the other…" She tried to call out. She then sighed when she realized that Hiccup and Toothless were long gone. "...ingredients."

"Ah, don't worry. He'll be back before we are." Fishlegs reassured.

"Plus, it's better to work on the cure with _all_ the ingredients." Hicca added.

After a bit of flying, Hiccup and Toothless spotted an island that was hopefully the one they were looking for. Hiccup checked his map and saw that it was indeed Eel Island. "That's it. Eel island. Let's get a closer look, bud." Toothless flew to the island and soon hovered over a river stream that was filled with eels. "Oh, eels. That was quick. Wow, this place sure lives up to its name." Hiccup commented. Toothless started to inch back, not liking the sight of the eels at all. Hiccup noticed this. "Whoa, Toothless, I-I know you don't like these guys, but we need to do this."

Reluctantly, Toothless flew a bit closer to the river and Hiccup got his shield ready and fired a grappling hook into the sea. "Now, if I can just hook one…" He muttered, squinting his eyes to find an eel. The line of his grappling hook started to tug and Hiccup immediately reeled it back in, bringing out an eel.

The eel flew right into Toothless' face, causing the Night Fury to panic and tried to shake it off. This made Hiccup lose his balance and fall right into the river full of eels. Hiccup tried to swim back up, but one of the eels wrapped itself around Hiccups' neck and dragged him back down where more eels were ready to attack the boy. However, they were sent swimming away by a plasma blast from above.

But the one eel wrapped around Hiccups' neck still remained. It tried to bite Hiccup, with the auburn haired boy desperately trying to hold it back. Toothless' head suddenly came into the river and, to Hiccups' shock, the Night Fury actually ate the eel!

Hiccup immediately got out of the river and checked on his dragon. "Are you okay? Most dragons never even touch eels. You just ate one." He said, still finding it hard to believe even though he witnessed it.

He tried to give Toothless a quick check-up, remembering her sisters' notes, but Toothless suddenly jolted back away from his touch. "Hey, Toothless, it's all... it's all right. Come on, let me just get a look at you."

He tried to get closer to Toothless, but the Night Fury just growled at him.

It turned out that eating an eel affects a dragons' sight as Hiccup became blurry to Toothless' eyes, making it hard for the dragon to recognise his human.

Eels also affects a dragons' hearing, as Hiccup voice was to distorted for Toothless to understand.

Scared and confused, Toothless suddenly ran away. "Come on, don't do , come back!" Hiccup called out before he ran after his dragon taking his shield with him.

Back on Berk, the rest of the dragon riders plus Gothi made it back to the Great Hall where Stoick greeted them.

"Do you have the ingredients?" The chief asked, before coughing.

"Uh, Hiccup has them." Hicca answered.

"Well, where is he?" Stoick asked.

"I don't know! He should be here. He went off to get the last ingredient." Astrid said.

"And he has the rest of the ingredients with him." Raeda added.

Stoick continued to cough uncontrollably. "Well, we have to find him." He wheezed. "We won't be able to stand this eel pox much longer. The fever, it makes it hard to think straight."

"Yoo-hoo!" A voice called, getting the groups' attention. They saw Gobber completely out of it, with flowers on his helmet and a purple cloth around his prosthetic hand. "Where's my little Gobber? Great Aunty Rose wants to give him a big kiss." He said in a high-pitched voice.

"He's already reached that stage? It took a lot longer last time." Hicca commented.

The blacksmith/dragon dentist tried to kiss Stoick on the cheek, which the latter tried to block with his hands. "See what I mean?" The chief asked to the teens.

"Uh, yeah. We'll find him, sir." Astrid reassured. She and the others cringed at the scene and were glad that Gobber didn't get sick so often. "I promise." The teens then left the Great Hall.

"In the meantime, I'll make some more soup." Hicca promised before she went to join the others, leaving Stoick to deal with Gobber..

"Ooh, you better wear a wrap so you don't catch cold, dearies." Gobber called out to them.

"Would you stop that?" Stoick growled. It was bad enough he had to deal with the illness, but to deal with Gobber with the illness...

The ill blacksmith/dragon dentist was unfazed by this. "Ooh, you've got a wee smudge, darling."

"Gobber!"

Back on Eel Island Hiccup continued to chase after the distraught and confused Toothless in the forest. "Toothless!" The Night Fury stopped running and turned to face Hiccup, still in panic. "Hey, bud." Toothless growled at the boy who looked and sounded like a complete stranger to him. Hiccup approached him slowly and carefully with his hand out in front of him. "It's okay, bud. I can help you." Toothless continued to growl. "Hey, easy there. You're okay."

Unable to take it anymore, Toothless fired a plasma blast. But this one was different. This plasma blast was red and way stronger than all the previous plasma blasts.

Hiccup barely dodged the blast and fell to the ground. "All right, that was big, and incredibly wonder you guys go easy on the eels." Hiccup noted.

Toothless roared and continued to fire. "Okay, six-shot limit." Hiccup reminded himself as he continued to dodge the blasts. "That was four." He dodged another blast. "Oh, five!" He jumped out of the way just as the final plasma blast got fired and then Toothless stopped. "And that makes six." He said with a sigh of relief as he got up. "Whew! Let's not do that again, okay? Well, maybe now we can figure out how to fix…" He started walking to Toothless but stopped when he saw that Toothless' mouth was glowing a bright red, a sign that he was preparing to fire another plasma blast. "Seven shots? Are you kidding me?"

The area in the forest was soon filled with bright red plasma blasts.

Unaware of Hiccups' dilemma, the other teens were still waiting for the return of their missing co-leader. And it seems the Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut are showing symptoms of the Eel Pox. "Hiccup's not back yet." Astrid groaned.

"You sure? 'Cause I-I could use some of that…" Tuffnut tried to say before he stopped to throw up on the ground. "medicine."

"Wait, you guys are sick too?" Fishlegs asked the Thorston twins and the Jorgenson boy.

"I'm f-f-f-f-f-fine" Snotlout said while shivering. He then sneezed. "J-j-just peachy."

Hicca looked out at the sea with narrowed eyes. "Something has happened with Hiccup and Toothless. I can feel it. We need to go to Eel Island."

"We can't send them out again. It's too dangerous." Fishlegs pointed out gesturing to the sick teens.

"Gothi and I will get everything ready for when you three get back." Astrid said.

"Right." Fishlegs said nodding. He then paused and thought over that statement. "Wait, get back from where?"

"Fishlegs, you, Hicca and I are going to find Hiccup." Raeda said.

"Good luck." Astrid said before she and Stormfly flew off to find Gothi.

"On Eel island? Great." Fishlegs muttered, clearly not looking forward to going to an island filled with the one thing that scares dragons. "Great! That's just perfect."

"Let's go." Raeda said, walking to Sparkfire. But before she could get on, she suddenly sneezed a few times.

"Rae?" Hicca called in worry.

"I'm fine." Raeda said, though she started to shiver.

Hicca went to her and checked her forehead. "Your temperature says otherwise. You're staying as well."

"Oh, come on." Raeda started to protest.

"No arguments. Sparkfire make sure she stays."

The purple Nadder gave a squawk of acknowledgement. Hicca and Fishlegs then took off with their dragons.

"Eh... maybe... maybe the fever is kicking back in, but I think I just saw a two people fly off on dragons!" Tuffnut said in a complete daze. He then started laughing. "Dragons! I mean, how crazy would that be?" He continued to laugh and suddenly fell to the ground. "Where am I? Who are each of you?"

Raeda sighed and decided to head home straight to her bed before she started acting like that.

Meanwhile, Hiccup continued to dodge the endless plasma blasts. One of them caused him to trip and fall. The succeeding plasma blasts hit the ground inches from Hiccups' foot. "Uh, okay. That one was a little close to the one good leg." He said

The boy got up just as another blast was shot. The impact of the blast sent Hiccup flying straight into a tree, knocking him out.

As Hiccup sat there, completely dazed by the hit. Toothless approached him slowly, calmer than he was previously. The Night Fury nudged the boy up, but Hiccup was still unresponsive from the hit.

Toothless then ran away and Hiccup could only sit there and watch him. "Toothless?" He called out weakly, before his vision went dark.

A bit of time passed before Hiccup managed to regain consciousness. He soon jolted awake when he heard some rustling sounds coming from the nearby bushes. He held his shield in anticipation.

Suddenly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Hicca and Midnight flew out from the bushes. "Hiccup!" The two teens called.

Hiccup dropped his defenses. "Hicca! Fishlegs! Boy, am I glad to see you two."

"Are you okay? We've been worried about you." Hicca said.

"I'm fine." Hiccup reassured.

Fishlegs looked around, noticing a missing Night Fury. "Uh, where... where's Toothless?" That's when he noticed the burnt forest. "And what did all that?"

"That would be Toothless." Hiccup answered.

"And who was he fighting?" Hicca asked.

"Uh, mostly me." Hiccup admitted. "Also, himself a little bit. Welcome to Eel island!"

Midnight gave out a worried warble, clearly for her mate. She was hoping Toothless didn't do anything stupid like eat one of the eels.

"Well, did you find any eels?" Fishlegs asked.

"We did... including the one that ended up in Toothless' stomach." Hiccup informed.

That shocked the two teens even more, while Midnight buried her snout in her paws. "He ate... an eel?" Fishlegs gasped.

"Whoa." Hicca breathed out.

"And it's not agreeing with him either." Hiccup added.

"A possible side-effect from eating the eel. Could this be the reason while dragons are afraid of eels?" Hicca wondered.

"We don't really have time to figure that one out." Hiccup said, taking the net out of his shield.

"What are you doing?" Fishlegs asked.

"I'm building a netter trap." Hiccup answered, working on his trap.

"You really think this net's gonna hold Toothless?" Fishlegs asked with eyebrows raised.

"Well, if it doesn't, Meatlug can always sit on him." Hiccup joked.

Hicca quietly giggled while Fishlegs wasn't amused at all. "She can hear you, you know." The three teens looked at the Gronckle only to find her snoring on the ground.

"I don't know how much worse things can get." Hiccup said as he threw the rope of the net over the branch above them.

"Well, we kind of do." Hicca spoke up. "The ingredients for Gothi's eel pox cure are still in Toothless' saddlebag."

"And don't even get us started on what's going on back in the village." Fishlegs said.

"Well, to simply put it, I ended up tying Bucket up cause he thought his bucket was a bird and tried to swat it away abd Mulch thinks he a cow and kept trying to eat grass! And they were two of the calmer cases. Snotlout became sick before we left and I can only hope that he's not trying to start _another_ revolution." Hicca listed off. ( **A/N: Got this idea from iron maker2 from the reviews** )

Unfortunately her hope was in vain, because on Berk, an ill and woozy Snotlout Jorgenson has gathered some of the dragons, including Hookfang, Barf and Belch in front of the Great Hall and started giving a speech for them. Apparently the effects of the Eel Pox has inspired the Jorgenson boy to start a dragon revolution.."And while they sit there all warm and cozy, who stokes their fires and fills their fish barrels, huh?" Snotlout asked while slamming a fish on the barrel he was standing behind. That woke up a Terrible Terror who was sleeping on the same barrel. Snotlout then grabbed the small dragon. "Who defends the village from the enemy, while these so-called "warriors" cower in their great hall? And do they give you loyal dragon workers any support? Any respect? Any rights?" He kept slamming the Terrible Terror on the barrel for emphasis. "Nay, says I. They cast you aside…" He threw the small dragon aside. "like common animal.

The Terrible Terror had enough of being used as an emphasis and started attacking the Jorgenson boy as the other dragons watched.

On Eel Island, Hiccup has just finished setting up his trap. "Well, here's hoping that works. We'd better get in the air and see if we can track Toothless down." He sat behind his twin on Midnight while Fishlegs got on Meatlug.

The five of them flew in the air, hoping to find any signs of Toothless. Hiccup, however, found something else. "Hey, Hicca, Fishlegs, does that clearing look familiar at all?" He asked pointing to an area in the forest which has a very distinct and indeed familiar burn mark.

"That's... that's a Typhoomerang mark!" Hicca exclaimed.

"The only dragon that eats eels." Fishlegs realized. "Oh, well, that makes sense. It... it's the perfect habitat for them, really. I bet there's tons of wild Typhoomerangs here." He said excitedly. He then noticed the auburn twins giving him deadpanned expressions. "And that's bad. Really bad."

Now the three teens have to find Toothless, free him from his current state of mind, get an eel _and_ avoid running into wild Typhoomerangs.

Back on Berk, Snotlout hasn't given up on his rebellion. "C-c-come, my brothers in flames." He said before coughing. "Let us join hands, hooves, and talons, and take what is rightfully ours!" The Terrible Terror from before decided to come back for round two, sending Snotlout falling down the stairs as the other dragons watched. "Can somebody please get me a blanket?" The teen asked weakly

On Eel Island, while searching, Hicca suddenly had a thought. "Hiccup, you said Toothless' skin felt warm, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, plus he's got what you might call an explosive cough." Hiccup added.

"Okay, put all that together, and it sounds a lot like..." Hicca said.

Fishlegs figured out what she was trying to say. "Eel pox!"

The wheels in Hiccups' mind started turning as well. "I wonder... if eels cure the pox in people, maybe they cause it in dragons."

"Maybe." Hicca said.

"So if we give Toothless the medicine, maybe that'll counteract the eel." Hiccup theorized.

"That's kind of stretching it." Fishlegs said, feeling doubtful

"If you've got a better idea, I'm open." Hicca said.

"Nope. Stretch away, my friends." Fishlegs said, deciding that the theory is better than anything else.

A red plasma blast caught the groups' attention. "I bet I know where Toothless is." Hicca spoke up.

The group flew towards the source of the blast. Toothless was standing at cliffs firing plasma blast after plasma blast. Midnight and Meatlug landed a safe distance away from the male Night Fury, behind some boulders.

Hiccup, Hicca and the two dragons were keeping a close eye on Toothless, figuring out the right time to approach him. Fishlegs was doing the same until something caught his peripheral vision. The Ingerman boy looked and became scared.

"Uh, guys, you two got a sec?" Fishlegs asked, nervously.

"Uh, busy. Can it wait?" Hiccup asked, not looking at Fishlegs.

Hicca, out of curiosity, looked where Fishlegs was looking and her eyes widened. "I really doubt it can wait bro."

"It probably could but I don't think it will."

Hiccup turned to see what the two of them were talking about and his eyes widened he was suddenly looking at two wild Typhoomerangs.

Typhoomerangs definitely lives in Eel Island and they don't seem too welcoming to outside guests.

The two Typhoomerangs gave out a roar, catching Toothless attention. The male Night Fury fired a plasma blast in defense, but missed due to his illness. He then ran away, which was also hindered from the illness and the Typhoomerangs chased after him.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called out. He got back on Midnights' saddle followed by Hicca. "Fly us over Toothless!" Midnight didn't even need to be told once as she flew to her mate as fast as she could, followed by Fishlegs and Meatlug.

Despite his bad sight, Toothless has so far been successful in keeping himself out of the Typhoomerangs claws. That changed, however, when the Night Fury suddenly found himself facing a cliff wall! Cornered, Toothless could only watch at the two Typhoomerangs got closer. Until…

"Meatlug, spew!"

Lava blasts were fired at the two Typhoomerangs from above, catching them off guard and sending them back.

"Midnight, plasma blast!"

The two wild dragons were then hit with plasma blasts, none of them missing their mark. This caused the two wild dragons to fly away, allowing Toothless to escape.

Hiccup jumped off Midnight. "Meet me in the clearing." He said to the other two teens.

"Where are you going?" Fishlegs asked.

"I'm getting my dragon back. You and Hicca keep those big guys busy." Hiccup said running off after his dragon.

"Split up. You and Meatlug take one of the dragons, Midnight and I will take the other." Hicca said.

"Fishlegs and Meatlug... against a Typhoomerang?" Fishlegs stated in disbelief. "Does that really seem fair to you?"

"Nope, the Typhoomerang doesn't stand a chance!" Hicca said, before Midnight fired at one of the Typhoomerangs, getting its attention. As much as the female Night Fury would prefer to go after Toothless with Hiccup, she needs to make sure these Typhoomerangs don't go near any of her boys.

That did the trick as the Typhoomerang started flying after the two girls, leaving the boy and Gronckle with the other wild dragon. Fishlegs gave a nervous gulp. 'This isn't going to end well.'

Hiccup caught up to Toothless, who slowed down in his pace, and jumped right on the saddle. Toothless panicked again and started firing plasma blasts around while trying to shake Hiccup off. "I'm not lettin' go, bud. Like it or not, you're stuck with me." Hiccup said, determination filling his eyes.

Above the ground, Fishlegs and Meatlug kept one of the Typhoomerangs occupied. Which was no problem since the wild dragon was all too happy to try to burn the duo. "Whoo! That was close." Fishlegs said, as Meatlug dodge a stream of fire. They tried to fly away, but the Typhoomerang chased after them. "Stay... stay away!" Fishlegs pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears.

On the ground, Toothless continued to run with Hiccup on his back. The boy then noticed his dragon was running right to a cliff! "Okay, that's going to be an issue." He muttered. He tried to get his foot in the stirrup, but no luck thanks to the dragon constantly moving. Toothless ran right off the cliff and the two boys started plummeting into the sea. Luckily Hiccup finally managed to secure himself to the stirrup, allowing Toothless to fly above the water.

But it seems that the Night Fury was still determined to shake Hiccup off.

Back with Fishlegs and Meatlug, the duo were still being chased by the Typhoomerang. "Hicca, please come back and help us." Fishlegs muttered. The wild dragon fired another stream of fire, which Meatlug once again dodged. "Thor, if you're listening, I could really use Astrid's or Raeda's help right now." Meatlug dodged another stream of fire. "Aah! Or Snotlout's." Another stream of fire. "Aah! Or the Thorston twins'. Seriously, I will even take the Thorston twins."

Unfortunately for him, help won't come in the form of the Thorston twins as they both caught the Eel Pox. Strangely enough, the effects made them more into science then they have been in their lives. Right now they were in the Academy carrying out an experiment.

Tuffnut was standing on Belchs' stretched head with a feather in one hand and a rock in the other.

"One, two, three!" The male Thorston counted, before releasing the two objects.

Ruffnut coughed as she observed two objects falling to the ground, the rock faster than the feather. "How fascinating." She commented.

"Oh, dear sister, our hypothesis appears to be correct. The air offers a much greater resistance to the falling motion of the feather than it does to the rock." Tuffnut theorized

"Remarkable. Shall we increase our sample size?" Ruffnut asked. "What say you?"

"We shall!" Tuffnut agreed.

"I propose we try dropping a large yak alongside a normal-sized dragon rider." Ruffnut suggested.

Tuffnut gasped in realization. "Why, sister, that is brilliant. And I'm a normal-sized dragon rider. What luck!"

"Aha! I'm off to find a suitable yak." Ruffnut said.

"Science!" The blonde twins cheered while coughing.

Meanwhile, Hiccup continued to struggle to get Toothless to remain calm. "Ugh. This would be a lot easier if you would just-"Toothless dove under water and emerged with Hiccup soaking wet and hanging onto Toothless from the side. "-slow down."

Fishlegs wasn't having any better luck as he and Meatlug were _still_ being chased by the Typhoomerang. Fishlegs then noticed that the wild dragon wasn't firing at them anymore. "Oh, would you look at that? Out of shots, huh?"

But the Typhoomerang wasn't too bothered as it dove down into the water, scooping up many eels to eat. That was all it needed to get its' fire power back. It wasted no time shooting a fiery tornado at the smaller duo.

They managed to escape unscathed, but Fishlegs decided to put his foot down. "Okay, we've had enough. Looks like it's time for the 'Gale Force Gronckle.' Hit it, girl!" Meatlug flew close to the Typhoomerang and started spinning fast. This caused the wild dragon to be hit multiple times by her bludgeon-like tail. The wild dragon decided to admit defeat and fly away. "Gale force Gronckle... oh-oh-oh! Whew. Attagirl." Fishlegs breathed out as Meatlug stopped spinning. "Okay. Oh… Give me a second for my insides to catch up with my outsides. That's why we don't do that one too often."

"Fishlegs!" Said boy turned to where his name was being called and saw Midnight and Hicca flying to them.

"Hey, did you guys get rid of your Typhoomerang?"

"Yep, it won't be waking up anytime soon." Hicca said. "Now, let's go get Hiccup."

Despite Toothless' best efforts Hiccup managed to secure himself back on the saddle and was trying to direct Toothless to where he wants to go. Keyword: "trying". "You know I actually remember when this was easy." Hiccup grunted, trying to steer his dragon. The boy then saw the Typhoomerangs' mark from last time and figured out where they were and continued to steer Toothless. "Toothless, if you're in there, we're about to-"

CRASH

Hiccup was thrown off the saddle and hit the ground., thankfully didn't get injured too much.

Toothless got up and made his way to Hiccup, intent on attacking again. But then the dragon tripped the trick wire from Hiccups' trap, causing the net to fall on him. "I know. I'm sorry about that. Just relax, bud, you're gonna be okay." Hiccup reassured to the dragon struggling under the net. Toothless then prepared to fire at the net. "Toothless, no!" But to the boys' dismay, Fishlegs' prediction came true as Toothless destroyed the net. He then began to make his way to Hiccup again when suddenly Meatlug fell right on him from above.

"All right, Fishlegs! I can't believe that actually worked." Hiccup said in relief.

Hicca and Midnight landed and the female Night Fury immediately went to her mate, who was still struggling under the Gronckles' weight. She tried to warble some reassurances to her distorted other half.

"Careful, Hiccup. He might shoot." Fishlegs cautioned as the auburn boy approached.

"No, he won't." Hiccup said with confidence, before turning to Toothless. "You're okay. You're just a little sick, bud. But we may have a way to fix that." He took all the ingredients from the saddle bag and gave it to Hicca. His twin took the ingredients in understanding and a few moments later, she was able to mix up the cure for Toothless with plenty of ingredients to spare. She handed the bowl back to Hiccup.

"Here goes nothin'." Hiccup said, before approaching Toothless. The male Night Fury was preparing another plasma blast until dump the contents of the medicine in his mouth. Toothless swallowed immediately.

The three teens and two dragons were silent as they looked for signs of Toothless getting better. "Did it work?" Fishlegs asked Hicca.

"I'm... not entirely sure." Hicca admitted.

Suddenly, Toothless regurgitated the eel that caused all this trouble right into Hiccups' lap. "Ah, great." Hiccup groaned, feeling the disgusting eel before smiling at Toothless. "There's the Toothless I know. Welcome back, bud." He said, patting his head. Midnight nuzzled him from the side.

"Um... while I love the reunion, perhaps we should finish it back on Berk." Fishlegs spoke up.

"He's right. We still have a village of vikings to cure." Hicca pointed out.

"I couldn't possibly agree with you two more." Hiccup said. Without wasting anytime. The three of them packed up all the ingredients and were soon on their way back to Berk.

Astrid was the only teen on Berk who wasn't sick, but that was starting to change when the blonde girl started shivering as she and Stormfly were on the lookout for the three missing teens and dragons. "'Scuse me. Uh, you should be indoors, young lady. You'll catch your death of cold in this weather." Hiccup chided as he and the others came into view.

"He's right. Do I need to order you to be on bed-rest?" Hicca added.

"Hiccup, you're okay!" Astrid said in relief.

"Yeah, we both are." Hiccup said, scratching Toothless at the back of his head.

With all the ingredients, Hicca and Gothi got to work on making the cure and distributing the cure. Having been the first few to take the cure and feel better instantly, Stoick, Gobber and Raeda helped out in distributing the cure.

Snotlout, still sick, was lamenting on his failed rebellion with the same Terrible Terror. "We were so close to uniting our people. We could have had it all, you and me. We could've been kings among men and dragons. And now look at us. What have we got, huh? Nothing. Nothing!" He cried, strangling the small dragon. He then tossed the dragon aside and a second later, he was attacked once again. "Ahh! Oh, no!"

Stoick watched his nephew get attacked. "Make his a double dose." He instructed his daughter.

"Everyone, we've had a breakthrough." Tuffnut announced, he and his sister were also still sick. "Ruffnut has determined that if you boil yak milk, you can freeze it on a stick and dip it in a variety of tasty flavorings, including coconut."

"I call it 'Ruff cream.'" Ruffnut declared.

"Hold on. I thought it was 'Tuff cream.'" Her twin objected, causing her to fold her arms in defiance. "We talked about this. In the other room you said it could be Tuff cream. Now, did I mishear you, or are you pulling the wool over my eyes, madam?"

"And a triple dose for those two muttonheads." Gobber added as he thought about the idea of freezing yak milk. "Ugh! Who would freeze perfectly good milk? Never heard of anything so barbaric in my life."

"Did you note down what Tuffnut said?" Raeda asked Hicca.

"Yep and I think we should try chocolate with it." Hicca said. Raeda nodded in agreement, excited by the experiment.

Once every sick viking was cured, Hicca help Gothi store the remaining medicine and then joined Hiccup and Fishlegs in recording their experience on Eel Island. "I'm noting the skittish behavior, the fever, and the out-of-control firepower." Fishlegs said, writing the information down in the Book of Dragons

"Well, now we know why most dragons won't eat eels. It makes them really sick." Hicca said.

"Except Typhoomerangs. That's why they live on Eel island." Fishlegs added.

"And that's why we're never going back to Eel island." Hiccup said.

"Oh, thank Thor." Fishlegs breathed in relief. Eel Island was definitely one of the many islands he would prefer to avoid forever.

"Hey Hicca, Fishlegs?" Hiccup spoke up.

"Yes, Hiccup." The two teens said.

"Thank you both. I don't know what we would've done without you. All of you." He said to the teens and dragons.

"Of course, bro. We're always going to be there for you no matter what." Hicca said, hugging her twin.

"Oh… Group hug, Meatlug." Fishlegs exclaimed, joining in the hug, followed by Meatlug, causing them to fall down. Toothless and Midnight laughed at the sight.

"Oh, isn't this great?" Hiccup grunted, as he, Hicca and Fishlegs were pinned under Meatlugs' weight.

"The best." Hicca agreed.


	18. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

**A/N: I'm back! And I'm excited because I am three chapters away from finishing this story! Yay! I know I said in the last note that I would put up an original chapter, but I'm kinda hitting a snag with that story. I'm going to need the help of a beta. If anyone wants to help me with that let me know. So I decided since I couldn't get anywhere with the other chapter to continue on with the regular episodes, therefore I present you the next chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 18: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes**

Today, Trader Johann is due for another visit to Berk and all the villagers were gathered at the docks, waiting for his arrival.

Fishlegs was bouncing with excitement as he saw the ship getting closer. "Trader Johann's here, everybody, Trader Johann's here!"

Snotlout rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Johan Shmohan, that guy never lets me touch any of his cool stuff."

"Well that's because last time he was here, you broke half of it!" Hiccup pointed out.

"It's my word against his." Snotlout said defensively.

"And the word of the witnesses who have seen you broke all those things." Raeda pointed out.

"Shut up, Raeda."

Trader Johann's ship boarded the docks. "I'm back! Ah, Berk! The crown jewel of the entire Archipelago!" He said as the customers started boarding the ship.

"Over here Trader Johann!" Fishlegs exclaimed excitedly.."Oooo, what did you bring today?"

"First things, Mr. Fishlegs, treasures from every coast and every shore, like the pearls of danger." Showing Fishlegs the valuables. He then took out a beautiful pair of earrings.

"Oooooo!" Fishlegs said in awe.

"Perfect for that special lady in your life."

Snotlout nudged Astrid. "You know, those could be yours, Astrid, just say the word…"

"Yuck!" Astrid deadpanned, walking away.

"That's not the word!" Snotlout called out to her.

Gobber looked through all the valuables Johann had, but didn't seemed to impressed. "Hmm, nope!"

Trader Johann then walked up to the blacksmith/dragon dentist. "Ah, Mr. Gobber, what could I interest you in?"

"Why don't you wow me Johann, knock me off my feet." Gobber challenged.

"Put me to the test, I uh," Trader Johann said with a nervous chuckle."okay." He looked around and tried to find something that would interest the blonde man.

Fortunately for him, he didn't have to as Gobber found something that caught his eye.

"Hang on…" Gobber walked to a corner of the ship which had a blanket covering something."What's under here?"

Trader Johann was dismissive of that. "Oh, nothing too exciting, just an old pile of-"

"Scrap metal!" Gobber finished excitedly as he removed the blanket. "It's perfect! I've run out of things to pound around here!"

"Woah, It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Tuffnut said in awe.

"It's just scrap metal" Astrid said..

"No, I'm talking about this mace!" Tuffnut said, with his eyes on said weapon. He runs to the mace and picks it up. "Woah, hey mace. You wanna come home with me, don't you?" He changes the tone of his voice to a higher pitch. "Yes I do, Tuffnut, I wanna needlessly destroy other people's property with you!" He then goes back to his regular voice and hugged the mace. "Oh Macey, you get me!"

"I see you are a gentleman that recognizes quality when he sees it." Trader Johann said to Gobber. "This is the finest metal from the farthest reaches of the archipelago."

"I'll take it all." Gobber said.

"Excellent, always a pleasure, Mr. Gobber."

A loud crash sound was heard causing the group to look for the source and find Snotlout in the middle of the scene of the crime.

"Wasn't me!" Snotlout said all too quickly.

"I really hate that kid." Johann muttered looking at his destroyed possessions.

"Uh, Hicca, Hiccup, do you two think you can spare a hook two, kids?" Gobber requested, gesturing to the pile of scrap metal..

"Not a problem, Gobber." The Haddock twins replied.

"Hey guys!" Hiccup called, getting the attention of the other dragon riders.

"Come on, we need to get this scrap metal to the forge." Hicca said.

They got on their dragons, who grabbed the scrap metals with their claws.

"Let's do this, Macey!" Tuffnut said, lifting his new "companion" high in the air.

Snotlout was just about to get Hookfang to fly up when he is suddenly pulled off his dragon by Gobbers' hook.

"Not so fast, you, I paid good money for this scrap, I'll not have you dropping it into the ocean!" Gobber stated, causing Snotlout to mutter to himself and cross his arms.

The rest of the day went by without any incidents, it was only until the next morning when the trouble started.

Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight were walking in the plaza when they saw a group of vikings gathered together and discussing something worriedly.

"I got those ladles when I went to sleep and now they're gone!"

"All my grandmother's goblets, GONE!"

"Okay, what did we just walk into?" Hiccup asked his twin and the two Night Furies.

"Whatever it is, we're definitely going to find out about it." Hicca said, while the Night Furies looked just as confused as their humans did.

"All my favorite milk jugs, gone!"

"What is going on here?" Hiccup asked the rest of the teens as the four of them joined the group.

"A bunch of stuff got stolen from the village last night." Snotlout explained.

"And some of us are taking it pretty hard." Astrid added, pointing to Tuffnut.

Said blonde boy was on knees, sobbing. "Macey, MACEY, Oh golly she's gone. NOOOOOO!" He wailed. He then narrowed his eyes at his twin. "You, you were always jealous of her." He accused, pointing at Ruff. "You knew I loved her more because I told you every so often and I wrote it in your room on the wall!"

The rest of the teens watched the scene, completely disturbed.

That was when the chief walked to the group. "We have quite a situation on our hands, axes, shields, helmets, drinking goblets, all stolen." He said to the teens.

"Axes, shields, helmets, drinking goblets." Hiccup repeated.

"What do all these things have in common?" Hicca asked, though she and her twin knew the answer.

"Obviously, duh." Snotlout said, knocking on his own helmet, which didn't get stolen. "They're all gone."

"No, they're metal, everything that's missing is metal." Raeda said, catching on.

"Rae, everything we own is metal." Astrid pointed out.

"It's a theory." Hiccup said.

"I miss the little spikes around your head." Tuffnut cried, while his twin rolled her eyes at him..

"Whatever's going on, I need to find who is responsible before this panic gets any worse." Stoick said.

That's when Gobber chose to run up to the group. "Bucket and Mulch are slapping each other with sturgeons." He reported, pointing at the two sturgeon-slapping vikings.

"What happened to their bludgeons?" The chief asked.

"Stolen, hence the sturgeon." The blacksmith/dragon dentist explained.

Stoick sighed. "In some ways It's probably better."

The Haddock twins looked at each other and nodded. "Uh Dad, what do you say you take care of this sturgeon slapping while Astrid, Raeda, Hicca and I do a little investigating." Hiccup offered. Stoick nodded and he and Gobber left to deal with the two sturgeon-slappers.

"Investigating? What exactly are you planning, Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

"To return to the scenes of crime and see if we can find out something about this metal thief." the boy explained.

"I'm in, and we should wear the cloaks I made." Raeda said. ( **A/N: From "Chaos" Chapter** )

"Why do we need the cloaks?" Hicca asked.

"Well, for one thing, we need to make some use of the cloaks I made. Also I think this investigation work should be done in style." Raeda explained.

"Hmmm, I don't think a cloak is right for that." Astrid said.

"No? Then how about a different style. Maybe something more like a coat?" The artistic girl suggested.

"I miss her!" The Thorston boy continued to cry out. "She had such a weird voice!"

The four t=of them ignored the crying boy and started their investigation. Their first stop, the forge. "Gobber, can you remember who has been here the last couple of days?" Hiccup asked.

"Hmm, hard to say. Business has been booming. There's only 41 shopping days left till Snoggletog, you know. Don't wait until the last minute." Gobber said.

"I know that all too well. I already got plenty of orders for Snoggletog gifts like shield portraits." Raeda said.

Hicca checked the grounds of the forge. "No footprints…" She reported.

"This metal thief won't get the best of me, I've set booby traps that are guaranteed to nab it." Gobber said confidently while walking to his anvil. He then froze when he heard a 'click'.

"What's the matter?" Astrid asked.

"It would appear that I've trapped myself in my own booby." The older viking admitted sheepishly. He put his hands up as dozens of crossbows suddenly appeared, all pointing at Gobber. "No one... move... a muscle…"

After disabling the crossbows without shooting Gobber and then carefully threading around the rest of the forge, the group decided to go to the Thorston household, where Tuffnut had created a memorial for his beloved mace.

"This is where Macey was before her disappearance, quote, unquote." Tuffnut said, glaring at his twin.

"I didn't take your stupid mace!" Ruffnut said, glaring back.

"It was her favorite spot. She just loved watching the sunset, or this wall, depending on which side I left her on." Tuffnut lamented.

"This is weird." Astrid muttered to the others.

"Yeah, even for the Thorston twins." Hiccup agreed.

"Hey, leave me out of this one!" Ruffnut objected.

Hicca looked around the place. "Strange, no forced entry, not a single footprint…"

"Maybe the thief covered up their tracks?" Raeda suggested.

"That wouldn't explain the lack of eyewitnesses." Astrid pointed out.

"I don't get it." Hiccup said.

"I do." Ruffnut spoke up. "And you guys call yourselves detectives. You're not even dress like one!"

"Work in progress." Raeda informed the Thorston girl.

"Ok, first of all, no, we don't call ourselves detectives." Hiccup said. "And second, what's so obvious?"

Ruffnut motioned for the other four to get closer in a circle, and they did. "What you're looking for, is not just a metal thief, It's a ghost metal thief." She said in a low voice.

Deciding that they weren't going to find anything helpful, the four teens left the Thorston Household.

"Well, that was helpful, as usual." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"What did you expect? We went to the Thorston twins." Raeda pointed out.

Astrid looked at the dark clouds. "It's getting late. We'll start again in the morning."

The other three teens nodded in agreement and parted to their own houses to get ready for a peaceful sleep.

Or so one of them thought.

A few hours into his sleep, Hiccup found himself jolted awake when he felt himself getting yanked out of bed by his prosthetic foot. The boy looked around for the culprit, only to find his room filled with smoke. "What the, TOOTHLESS!" He called out as he was getting carried away. Luckily, the Night Fury woke up to his humans' cry and immediately fired at the fog, which released Hiccup as a result. Toothless then flapped his wings at the smoke, allowing Hiccup to see the culprit, or rather _culprits_.

"Are they." Hiccup asked out loud. That's when everything started falling into place.

The Smokebreaths gave up on the metal leg and went after a different prize, Hiccups' helmet. "Hey, you get your hands off that!" Hiccup demanded snatching his helmet back. It wasn't just an ordinary helmet for him, it was given to him as a gift from his late mother. He already lost the helmet once, he wasn't going to let it happen again. Toothless continued to fire at the Smokebreaths to keep them away from Hiccup. The smaller dragons decided to give up and leave. Hiccup then turned to Toothless. "Well, bud, It looks like we found our thief."

The next morning was filled with complaints as more vikings are reporting missing valuables. The Dragon Riders were among the victims. While Hiccup was lucky keep the Smokebreaths away from his possessions, the others weren't as lucky. Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Hicca were missing their helmets, Astrid was missing her shoulder pads and Raeda was missing the metal tips of her arrows.

"The thief hit you guys too, huh?" Fishlegs asked sullenly to the other teens, who nodded.

"I feel naked without my helmet." Snotlout complained.

"I'd never thought about this but being without my arrows is making me feel vulnerable." Raeda said.

"We need to find this thief and _fast_." Hicca said, determination filling her eyes. Like her twin, her helmet is one of her most valuable possessions for the same reason and she wasn't ready to give it up to anyone.

"Fear not, my fellow twin." Tuffnut spoke up with a roll parchment in his hands. "I made a sketch of the thief. It came to me in a dream, see, my self conscience is working overtime. Like a sports team that just can't win." He then showed him the drawing, but there was something visibly wrong with the sketch that the others noticed.

"Um, Tuffnut, that's you." Astrid pointed out.

"No it's not." Tuffnut argued.

"Yes it is."

"No, it isn't. I think I'd know myself if I…" He looked back at his sketched and paused. "Hmm...I guess it is."

Hiccup ran up to the group. "Hey, guys, I know who the thief is or should I say I know who are _thieves are,"_ He informed them. Stoick joined the group as well once he overheard Hiccup. "Adolescent Smothering Smokebreath dragons."

"Of course, Smokebreaths steal metal to build their nests," Hicca recalled, putting two and two together

"But, why would Smokebreaths be on Berk?" Stoick asked.

"Chief, coming in with the big win," Fishlegs piped in. "Smothering Smokebreaths don't surely stray far away from the home on Breakneck Bog."

"That's the part I'm still unclear about," Hiccup admitted.

"I've been robbed!" Gobber's yelled running up to the group. "The thief evaded my booby traps and took all the metal I bought from Trader Johann, left me with barely a scrap of… scrap."

The group then got an idea on how the Smokebreaths got here.

"This whole thing started right after Trader Johann came to Berk." Raeda pointed out.

"Dad, I think we might know how the Smokebreaths got here," Hiccup said.

Luckily Johann is still staying on Berk.

Speaking of whom, the trader was in the Great Hall, oblivious to the situation. He was eating some food while re- telling one of his adventures to a Viking couple.

"That's when I said 'what's for dinner' and the Chief of the Moreyory tribe licked his lips and said 'you are.'" Johann said chuckling, though the couple didn't seem to entertained by the story. "My first mate would have been his first course." He then noticed Hiccup, Hicca and Stoick walking towards him. "Ah, Master Hiccup, Mistress Hicca and the great Chief, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well, Johann we were wondering where you may have got that scrap metal you sold Gobber?" Hiccup asked.

"Unfortunately old friends I can't possibly reveal my sources," Johann said. Stoick then growled and glared at the man angrily, refusing to take that for an answer. Johann immediately took back his last statement. "Of course there are times when it's best to share. I procured it from a Berserker who was offering a price I couldn't refuse. He had just come from an island that we both well and deeply fear."

"Breakneck Bog," Hicca said.

"You didn't hear that from me," Johann said.

"Oh, that wasn't just a pile of scrap metal Johann, that was a Smokebreaths nest with hatchlings inside it," Hiccup informed the man.

"Well, that's unfortunate news," Johann said.

Stoick and the Haddock twins glared at him and walked away. Toothless and Midnight looked at trader and gave him a short growl, before joining the humans.

"No need to thank me!" Johann called to them. He then turned back to the Viking couple he was talking to. "Now back to our story, where was I? Ah, yes the first course." Unimpressed, the viking couple walked away from the table.

The three humans and two dragons made their way back to the plaza, while discussing the situation.

"Well, that answers how the Smokebreaths got here," Hiccup said.

"Now we need to figure out how to get all the metal back and fast. The village is starting to fall apart." Hicca pointed out.

Stoick, Hiccup, Midnight and Toothless looked around and saw the village was indeed in a bad shape. The Smokebreaths have taken every inch of metal they could find, including the nails, causing the benches and carts to fall apart.

Gobber then walked up to the group. "Gobber what's the latest?" Stoick asked.

"Just as I feared Stoick, almost no metal left in all of Berk," Gobber reported.

"And what of the armoury?" The chief asked.

"Huh, let's just say the axe handles outnumber the axes and then there's this," Gobber answered walking up to a catapult. He gave it a gentle tap with his hook and it fell apart instantly.

"Without weapons, Berk is vulnerable," Stoick said.

"Dad we still got the dragons," Hiccup reminded his dad.

"And Dagur has an armada," Stoick pointed out. "Seven dragons are no match for a large scale attack."

Neither of the twins offered any arguments as they realised that their dad was right.

Later that evening at the arena, the dragon riders were discussing on what to do about the Smothering Smokebreaths.

The twins gathered the other teens and dragons in the Academy to come up with a plan.

"We have to find that missing metal, especially the weapons," Hiccup said to the team.

"And we need to find them fast before anything happens to Berk." Hicca added.

"Oh, Macey must be so alone and scared out there. It's hard out there for a mace," Tuffnut lamented, causing Ruffnut to roll her eyes.

"But the Smokebreaths could be anywhere in Berk." Raeda pointed out.

"They could have even took the metal back to Breakneck Bog," Astrid said.

"I don't think so," Fishlegs chimed in, while reading the Book of Dragons. "Smokebreaths can't fly long distance carrying a lot of weight."

Ruffnut then noticed Snotlout polishing his helmet, before she remembered that Snotlout had his helmet stolen earlier. "Hey, Snotlout how'd you get your helmet back?"

"Haha, it's my spare. A real warrior is never without his helmet," Snotlout answered smugly.

"Can't say the same for his brain," Astrid muttered.

Snotlout heard that. "What is it with you today? You are so—" He started to say before Stormfly fired a spike at his helmet, in defense for her human. This caused Snotlouts' helmet to spin. "Hey!"

"Snotlout, come on, please focus," Hiccup pleaded.

"Come on, really," Snotlout complained. Stormfly then fired another spike at his helmet making it spin again.

Hiccup decided to continue. "If the Smokebreaths didn't take the metal back to Breakneck Bog they must've started building a nest somewhere here on Berk,"

"Awesome!" Tuffnut exclaimed in excitement causing everyone to stare at him. "Not awesome?"

"Definitely not awesome," Astrid said. She then looked at Hiccup and Hicca. "How are we going to find them? As Raeda said they could be anywhere?"

"Well, these only one way to catch a metal thief and that's—" Hicca started to explain, when Tuffnut interrupted he.

"Wait, don't tell me. With a net? No, no, no with a rope? No, okay, oh, oh, don't say it, with a ropey net,"

"I was just going to say with metal," Hicca said.

Tuffnut smacked his head. "Oh, was on the tip of my tongue. Stupid tongue." He said, sticking his thumb out so that he could glare at it. He looked at his sister with his tongue still sticking out. "Flick it. Come on, flick it." Ruffnut did just that. "Oh, yeah."

"So we need to gather all the metal from the arena and make a trap that the Smokebreaths won't be able to resist." Hicca explained.

"We lure them in, let them take the metal and follow them right back to the nest and all our missing weapons," Hiccup finished..

"You did say all the metal, right guys?" Astrid asked looking at Snotlout's helmet with a smirk on her face.

Snotlout, although paying attention to the conversation, was just casually whistling and rubbing his helmet. He then noticed Astrid staring at him with her smug expression. "What? He demanded before realising that the blonde girl was looking at his helmet specifically. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. What about his leg that metal?" He protested, gesturing at Hiccup.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup chastised.

"All I'm saying fair is fair," Snotlout defended.

"Snotlout, please!" Hiccup said.

Despite protests from Snotlout, his beloved spare helmet was among the pile of metals that the teens managed to dig up to bait the Smokebreaths. The Dragon Riders and dragon were hiding near the bait, waiting for their targets to show up.

"I still say we should have flipped a yak-pie for it," Snotlout grumbled to Astrid and Raeda, causing both girls to roll their eyes.

"Shh, it looks like they've taken the bait," Hiccup whispered to the group. Sure enough, the pile of metal was soon concealed by a fog.. "Okay, very important; no one does absolutely anything until I give the signal."

Too bad the Thorston twins didn't pay attention to that part. "Get them!"

The blonde twins and the Zippleback flew straight into the fog which then became filled with an explosion.

"Yet, another plan perfectly executed," Hicca said sarcastically, shaking her head. "Dragons everyone."

The rest of the dragon riders flew into the fog, hoping not to lose sight of their targets.

"I got one!" Tuffnut yelled from inside the fog.

"Got one too!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Its skins feels all sweaty and clammy…" Tuffnut said. The fog started clearing away, revealing that the blonde twins actually caught each other. "... like a girl." The twins quickly moved away from each other.

Hiccup looked around and managed to locate the fog flying away. "There they go! Follow them!"

The dragon riders then flew up into the air and followed the Smothering Smokebreaths as they flew into the woods.

"Okay, don't lose them, bud!" Hiccup instructed. The fog then split into two. "Okay, tricky. Everyone split up!"

The teens split up, with Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda going after one fog and the others going after the other fog.

Toothless and Midnight fired at the fog, hoping to stop the small dragons inside, but no luck. Sparkfire then dived into to the fog, only for the fog to disappear.

"Sneaky." Raeda commented.

Hiccup spotted the fog flying away. "Toothless, over there."

Toothless flew after the cloud with Midnight and Sparkfire right behind him.

They all zig-zagged through trees, the bigger dragons trying to catch up with to the smaller dragons, until suddenly the Smokebreaths split apart and surrounded Hiccup and Toothless.

"Hiccup!" Hicca and Raeda called out. As concerned as they were for the Haddock boy, both girls refrained from getting their dragons to fire at the cloud in fear of accidentally hurting Hiccup and Toothless.

"Oh, not this again," Hiccup muttered, realising what the Smokebreaths were planning to do. And sure enough, the Smokebreaths took another chance at grabbing the boys' metal leg.

But Toothless was not about to let that happen. The Night Fury spun around and shot a plasma blast at the fog clouds to shake them off, but the Smokebreaths just came back.. Hiccup then fired a bola from his shield at the fog, and succeeded in capturing some of the Smokebreaths. But it proved to be useless as more Smokebreaths came. One of the smaller dragons crept up to Toothless' tail and removed the connecting rod. Without a fully functioning tail rod, the boys fell through the clouds. They were seconds away from a harsh impact with the ground when they suddenly find themselves slowly and carefully placed on the ground. They looked up and saw Sparkfire and Midnight land next to them.

"Thanks guys." Hiccup said to his sister, best human friend and the two dragons. Toothless warbled his thanks as well.

Hiccup looked up to see the fog flying away and immediately got up. "Follow that fog!"

"But Hiccup, you can't fly properly without the tail-fin." Raeda pointed out.

"Don't worry about me. We can't let the Smokebreaths get away." Hiccup insisted. He and Toothless took off on foot to the direction the Smokebreaths went. Raeda, Hicca, Midnight and Sparkfire immediately flew after them.

Despite their disadvantage, Toothless ran to the fog as fast as he could. "Get me close enough, Toothless." Hiccup instructed.

Toothless did just that and Hiccup aimed his shield at the fog. "You want some metal!" Hiccup yelled to the Smokebreaths. "Here you go!" He then fired the grappling hook at the fog.

The grappling hook managed to wrap itself around a Smothering Smokebreath, the same one who grabbed the connecting rod, in the fog. Surprisingly, the Smokebreath is stronger than it looked because it was able to pull Hiccup right off Toothless!

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Hiccup muttered as he got dragged by the smaller dragon.

Toothless ran after him. Had the male Night Fury known what his rider was going to do, he would not have ran that close to the fog.

Suddenly the Smokebreath that was dragging Hiccup was assaulted by a plasma blast, causing it to drop the rod it was holding. At the same time, the rope of the grappling hook was cut by a single spine shot, causing Hiccup to fall and get caught by Midnight as she flew by. Toothless was able to grab the connecting rod with his mouth.

"Can you atleast _try_ to refrain from crazy stunts every once in awhile?" Hicca asked rhetorically as Midnight and Sparkfire landed near Toothless, who stopped running.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at his twins' comment and got off Midnight to fix the connecting rod back onto the tailfin. As he did that, the three dragons started growling.

"What is it, guys?" Hiccup asked. The three teens looked to where the dragons were looking and saw a dark object in the trees.

"Give us some light, girl." Hicca said to Midnight.

Midnight fired a plasma blast up into the trees, lighting the area around it. The light revealed a huge pile of metal that was wielded together.

"The Smokebreaths nest," Hiccup gasped. The group then saw the nest was covered a pack of Smothering Smokebreaths who were wielding more pieces of metal onto it. "Okay, we need to go back and get all the riders so we can break this apart and get it back to the village," He said to the girls who nodded in response.

Hiccup and Raeda got on their dragons but Hicca didn't moved. Instead she brought out her spy-glass to get a closer look at the metal nest.

Realising what his twin was trying to do, Hiccup went to her. "Sis, we'll find your helmet soon, I promise." He reassured. "But right now we need to regroup with the others and come up with a plan."

Taking one glance back at the metal nest, Hicca nodded to her twin and they both walked back to their dragons, but stopped when they heard Astrids' voice.

"Hiccup! Hicca! Raeda!" The blonde girl yelled as she flew down to them. "Thank Thor, I finally caught up to you guys."

"Astrid we found the Smokebreaths nest," Hiccup informed her.

"Now we need to come up with a plan to get rid of the Smokebreaths and get all our metal back." Hicca said

"We don't have time for that," Astrid said with a worried expression.

"What do you mean?" Raeda asked.

"We just spotted something on the horizon," Astrid informed the trio.

The group followed Astrid back to the cliffs and using the spy-glass saw that a Berserker armada was heading right towards them!

"What is this guy, the king of armadas, does he go anywhere without one?" Raeda asked.

"It's like he knew we were going to be defenceless," Astrid pointed out.

The auburn twins then remembered something Johann said to them when explaining where he got the scrap metal from and the realisation came to them both. "He did," They both said, before running towards the village to warn their dad, followed by Astrid and Raeda..

They gathered the rest of the dragon riders, the chief and the villagers together to explain the situation..

"Trader Johann said he bought the scrap metal from a Berserker," Hiccup explained.

"And it was from Breakneck Bog," Fishlegs added.

"A place that is filled with Smothering Smokebreaths," Hicca said..

"Dagur planted those dragons, he knew what they'll do," Astrid said.

"Taking away all our weapons would give Dagur the perfect advantage to strike." Raeda added.

"Hiccup, Hicca, you two found the Smokebreath nest, you and the other riders go to it and get our weapons," Stoick instructed.

"They'll be protecting it by now. We don't have enough time to fight the Smokebreaths and get back here before Dagur attacks," Hiccup pointed out.

"Then I say we head out there and blast those Berserkers with what we've got," Snotlout said, punching his palm for emphasis..

"Even with our dragons the eight of us won't be able take out those ships alone," Hicca said..

"Well, if we cut ourselves in half we'll be… twice as many," Tuffnut piped in..

"Just once try stopping between here and here," Astrid said gesturing to head and mouth. Tuffnut followed that gesture in confusion.

Hicca thought over what Tuffnut said. "No he's actually onto something,"

"See! I'll get an axe," Tuffnut said.

He was about to leave to do so, when Hiccup stopped him. "What? No! We don't need an axe… we don't need more of us. We need more dragons," He explained, having figured out his twins' line of thought..

"What are you two saying?" Stoick asked, his children. How would they find time to meet and befriend more dragons?

"Why fight against the Smokebreaths, when we can fight with them?" Hiccup explained, before turning to the villagers. "Everyone, being any metal you might still have in your houses, it doesn't matter how small it is!"

"You heard my son!" Stoick yelled, causing the villagers to scramble..

The dragon riders collected every piece of metal handed to them and mounted on their dragons, ready to take off.

"I gutted my first Outcast with this," Gobber said, unscrewing his hook. He walked to Hiccup and handed over his prosthetic "Take good care of it."

"Thanks, Gobber I will," Hiccup promised..

As soon as the dragon riders had every scrap of metal left, Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda led the group to the Smokebreaths' nest.

Once they found the Smokebreath, they wasted no time putting their plan in motion. "Ruff, Tuff, sound the dinner bell," Hiccup ordered.

The blonde twins began banging some pans together, making as much noise as they can to get the Smokebreaths attention, much to the other teens and dragons annoyances.

"Come and get it, smokebutts" Ruffnut called to the dragons as she and her twin dropped the pans towards them.

"Yes, smokebutts, come and get it you foggybottoms," Tuffnut taunted. With that, the bigger dragons flew away and as predicted, the smaller dragons started chasing after them.

Hiccup looked back to make sure the Smokebreaths were following them. "Okay, there they are. We need to pick up the pace; if they get this metal we're done."

They then flew towards Dagur's Berserker armada, where the Berserker chief was getting impatient. "Oh, come on already! There should be boot kissing by now!" Immediately after he said that, Savage dropped to the floor and began kissing Dagur's boot, much to the teens disgust. "No you." He kicked the older man in the face and began shaking his leg."That's disgusting."

"Just trying to be helpful sir," Savage said meekly, getting up.

Dagur then spotted that they were getting closer to Berk and smirked. "It's time."

"Berserkers prepare to fire," Savage ordered the troops, who started preparing the catapults.

Watching the ships get closer from the cliffs of Berk, Stoick and the rest of the villagers armed themselves with anything that could be used as a weapon, just in case.

"Arm yourselves with whatever you can find," Stoick ordered his people as he ready a large wooded log. "We'll battle to the end."

Gobber was about to pick up a boulder to through at the ships, but stopped when he and the others saw the Dragon Riders flying towards them with a Smothering Smokebreaths fog cloud close behind.

"Stoick, look," Gobber said, getting the chiefs attention..

Stoick looked to where Gobber was pointing and saw the Dragon Riders fly over them, towards the Berserker armada with the Smokebreaths right on their tails. The chief could only wait and see if his kids' plan works.

"Dagur's fleet up ahead," Hiccup said to the others.

Dagur saw them coming towards them, but was more perplexed when he saw the Smothering Smokebreaths fog cloud.

"What is that?" Dagur asked Savage.

"It looks like fog," Savage answered, causing Dagur to punch him in the face.

"Sir, we can no longer see the Berk mainland, we have no target," Vorg reported, unable to see Berk as the fog got closer in sight.

"What?!" Dagur demanded, angered that his plans are being foiled already.

Hiccup waited until they were right above the armada before giving the others the signal. "Okay, gang, metal away!"

The dragons immediately released the nets they were holding causing all the metal inside to landon the Berserker ships, much to Dagurs' confusion as he caught a metal spoon.. "A spoon? They're dropping spoons. Why are they dropping spoons?" He asked out loud, looking at the spoon. "What does this mean? Could this be a spoon of surrender?"

The fog then covered the armada and one of the Smokebreaths suddenly snatched the spoon out of Dagurs' hands.

"Don't think so, sir," Savage said, starting to get worried as he looked around the fog.

It took Dagur a minute to realise what was happening. "Oh, no!" He muttered. But there was nothing he or any of the Berserkers could do as the Smokebreaths came in from different directions snatching every metal in sight. They seemed to have gotten all they wanted as they flew away from the ships. Surprisingly the ships were still standing.

"Hiccup, I thought it was supposed to—?" Astrid questioned.

"Wait for it," Hiccup said..

"And in three, two, one," Hicca counted.

Right on cue the Berserker ships then began to break apart, leaving the Berserkers stranded in the ocean. Happy with their victory, the Dragon Riders flew back to Berk to let everyone know what happened.

Dagur glared at the Dragon Riders retreating form as he and Savage were left floating on a plank from the ships' remains. He then shoved Savage off the plank in anger. "This is not over, Hiccup and Hicca! You two hear me?! You just wait! You two will kiss this boot!" He yelled at them. Then a Smothering Smokebreath flew by and took his helmet and one of his knee pads. "You will kiss this boot." He muttered as he drifted away.

Later on, the Dragon Riders managed to get the Smokebreaths away from their nest and worked on retrieving all the lost metal that were welded in.

Oh, Macey let's never be apart again," Tuffnut said, hugging his reclaimed mace. "Life is an empty void without your spikey… face."He then spoke in a higher pitched voice "Oh, I missed you too Tuffnut," He then went back to his normal voice. "And I miss the sunsets with you, Macey,"

Hicca hummed happily as she readjusted her helmet back on her head.

Stoick went to his kids. "Well done, kids," He said putting a hand on each twins' shoulder..

"We'll recover the rest of the metal just as soon as we get the Smokebreaths back to Breakneck Bog," Hiccup informed his father..

"And how are you two planning to do that?" Stoick asked.

"I think we know someone who should be happy to help us," Hiccup said as he and his twin shared a knowing smile.

That "volunteer" happened to be Trader Johann. All the teens agreed, Trader Johann was the one who brought the Smokebreaths to Berk so it was fitting that he would be the one to send them back to their home.

Hiccup and Hicca used the scrap-metal to lure the Smokebreaths to the ship, much to Gobbers' dismay and reluctance, and flew with him to make sure the Smokebreaths make it back to Breakneck Bog without sinking Johanns' ship.

"But, Master Hiccup, Mistress Hicca, this can't be the only solution," Johann pleaded as the Smothering Smokebreaths flew around his ship.

"Well it kind of is." Hicca said.

"Think of the story you'll have to tell.," Hiccup pointed out. "Next stop Breakneck Bog."


	19. Authors Note

**A/N: This is NOT a new chapter just an announcement. I don't usually do this but thanks to a recent review I realized that I forgot to mention something in my previous note. I've gotten quite a few suggestions on making Henry (OC) as Hiccas love interest. But I was already sold on the idea of having Marcus (OC) as her love interest, so how about this: keep Marcus as Hiccas love interest and put Henry as Raedas love interest. I think that sounds fair, right? After all Raedas also my OC who deserves happiness as well. Plus I just realized this but the names Marcus and Henry are a bit too Modern for a Viking era. R u guys fine with keeping those names or should I change them?**


	20. Another authors note

**A/N: Hello again! Looking at some of the reviews, I'm surprised that some prefer a reverse pairing, I wasn't expecting that, oh well. In response to two reviews, I agree this should be taken to a poll. So I just posted it on my profile page, feel free to visit the page and vote and if you think there should be another option added, suggest it to me and I will try to put it there. This poll will close once this story is over so make sure to get your vote in as soon as you can.**


	21. Bing, Bam, Boom!

**A/N: New chapter! One quick note, both polls are still open if you can't vote through the polls then you can send your vote through reviews and they will be counted but please don't do both. Let's make this fair**.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 21: Bing, Bam, Boom!**

Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless were at the cliffs of Berk, the two humans were just finishing setting up their newest invention, a large horn. "There we go." Hiccup said as he and his twin stepped back to examine their work. "There, that should do it. So what do you think, bud?"

Toothless just gave a bored grumble while Midnight warbled as she looked at the strange device in curiousity.

"Ah, reserving your opinion till you see it work." Hiccup said. "I'm good with that."

"It better work, It took a lot of begging to get Gobber to let us take all this metal." Hicca commented.

"It will work, sis. You'll see." Hiccup reassured.

"Hicca, Hiccup, are you up there?" Stoick voice called before he and Thornado emerged from below the cliffs and landed near the twins. "Thornado and I were busy surveying the village and…" Stoick began to explain as he got off Thornado. He paused when he noticed the giant horn. "What in the name of thor is that contraption?"

"We call it the thunder-ear." Hiccup answered.

"It can track dragon sounds from miles away." Hicca explained.

"And that hopefully includes our friend, the Screaming Death." Hiccup continued.

"And you're just in time to see us demonstrate." Hicca finished

"All right, demonstrate away." Stoick said.

"Okay, now put your ear up to this." Hiccup instructed, guiding his father to the narrow end of the horn. "Toothless, plasma blast."

Toothless fired into the air. A good distance away from Berk, Fishlegs and Meatlug were hovering and saw the plasma blast. "Oh, there's the signal, girl. Do you remember the song? What am I saying? Of course you do." He then cleared his throat and started to sing, with Meatlug accompanying him in her dragony singing.

Well, I've got my ax

And I've got my mace

And I love my wife with the ugly face

I'm a Viking through and through

Being able to hear the singing through the horn, Stoick cringed and moved his ear away from it. "All right, Fishlegs. You and Meatlug come out from wherever you're hiding." He then turned to his kids "Very funny, kids. Joke's on the chief."

"Dad, it's not a joke. Look." Hicca said. She handed her father the spy-glass and pointed out at the sea. Stoick used the spy-glass to look at where his daughter was pointing and saw that Fishlegs and Meatlug were indeed farther away from them than he thought and were still singing.

The chief then gave an impressed look. He went back to listening through the horn. "I think we could use this to hear enemy ships approaching as well. "That thunder-ear gets the chief's seal of…" He paused when another sound, specifically another voice, caught his attention. "Hang on."

"The dragons we've slain!"

"Is that…" He effortlessly turned horn towards the village to get a better listen and sure enough he could hear Gobber talking with another villager.

"Stoick? Ha! He'd be lost without me. I'm his right-hook man, you might say. Of course he'd never admit it." Gobber bragged. "And if you repeat this, I'll deny I was ever here."

"Right-hook man, eh?" Stoick grumbled. Oh, he is definitely going to have a talk with Gobber about this next he sees him. The chief then heard a screeching sound through the horn and cringed. "Ugh, oh, one of you can signal Fishlegs and Meatlug to stop." He said to his kids. "I don't know who's a worse singer, boy or the dragon."

The Haddock twins took turns listening through the horn. "Uh, that's not Fishlegs." Hiccup commented.

"Yeah, no, definitely not Fishlegs." Hicca said.

"Well, if it's not Fishlegs, then who or what is it?" Stoick asked

"Only one way to find out." The Haddock twins both said.

"My thoughts exactly." The chief agreed. He then gave a sharp whistle and without missing a beat, Thornado came into view. "Ah, would you look at that? I never get tired of seeing that magnificent beast make his entrance." Stoick said, admiring Thornado.

The three humans got on their dragons and the six of them flew off, trying to pinpoint the location of the noise. "I thought it was coming from out here." Hicca said, looking around.

Thornado seemed to have sensed something as he tried to turn and go in a different direction, but was held by Stoick. "Whoa, Thornado! I'll do the steering, if you don't mind." The chief said, pulling on his reigns.

"No, Dad, let him go. I think he hears something." Hiccup said.

Stoick decided to take his sons' word for it and stop resisting, allowing Thornado to fly where he wanted followed by Toothless and Midnight. It didn't take long for the group to find the source of the sound

"Whoa, are those... baby Thunderdrums?" Hicca said, her eyes widening as she and the others indeed saw three baby thunderdrums on a short sea-stack..

"Odin's ghost! No wonder Thornado knew where to take us." Stoick said.

"But what are they doing all the way out here by themselves?" Hicca wondered. Where on earth were their parents?

Toothless and Midnight warbled sadly at the baby Thunderdrums, being reminded of their own children who were out there somewhere exploring the world, and hopefully safe and together.

The baby Thunderdrums started screeching at the sight of the newcomers and started flying around Stoick and Thornado, much to the formers' annoyance. "Watch yourself, laddy. I'm a chief, you know."

"Dad, they're just kids. They're playing." Hiccup said.

"And they're probably more comfortable with Thornado because they're the same type of dragons." Hicca pointed out.

But that didn't mean Stoick like having the over-enthusiastic baby Thunderdrums flying too close to him. "Well, someone needs to tell them that playtime is over."

Thornado then gave out a roar to the baby dragons and they immediately flew back to the sea stack they were on, much more calmer.

"Well, looks like someone just did." Hiccup said.

Stoick chuckled. "I taught him that."

"I thought I recognized that roar." Hiccup joked. He then looked at the baby Thunderdrums who were looking back at them. "You do have to admit that they're kind of, well…"

"Cute? Cuddly?" Hicca offered. "Because they definitely are."

"I was gonna say cool." Hiccup said. He and his twin exchanged a look and nodded. Hiccup then turned to his father. "Hey, so, uh, Dad…"

But Stoick stopped him before he could even ask. "Eh-eh-eh, I know what you're thinking, and you might as well forget it." The baby Thunderdrums started screeching again, causing the chief to cringe as he covered his ears. "Ugh, there's enough racket on Berk with those Thorston twins."

"No, no, I guess... I guess you're right." Hiccup admitted.

"But we can't just leave these poor baby dragons out here like this!" Hicca protested.

"I'm sure they're parents will be coming back for them. Better to let them wait here for them. Remember what happened when took the baby Typhoomerang from the forest where his mother left him." Hiccup reminded his twin, before looking back at the baby dragons. "I just hope they'll be okay until then."

"Of course they'll be okay." Stoick said with full confidence. "They're Thunderdrums, after all. Toughest dragon in the archipelago." The Night Furies warbled their complaints at that comment, because hello? Night Furies? The unholy offsprings of lightning and death itself? Stoick noticed it. "That's right. I said it." He and Thornado flew back to Berk

"Ah, we've created a monster." Hiccup sighed, while his twin nodded in agreement.

It was getting late by the time they returned back to Berk. They landed in front of the forge, where Gobber was walking out with his panpipes in his hand. "Out for a little father-children flight, were we?" The blacksmith/ dragon dentist asked as the humans got off their dragons.

"Actually, we were just testing the thunder-ear." Hiccup informed his mentor.

"Thunder-ear, is that what you're calling it? Catchy." Gobber commented.

Stoick then remembered the conversation he overheard Gobber have with another viking and decided to take his revenge. "Oh, I'm glad you like it, Gobber, because you and the thunder-ear are on night watch together. All night, as a matter of fact." The chief declared.

"You know I'd love to, Stoick, really, I would, but I'm performing my one-viking spectacular at the great hall tonight." Gobber said, holding his panpipes up. "I'm closing with a rousing rendition of the reindeer waltz on the panpipes. It's sublime."

"I'm afraid the village will have to do without your panpipes tonight, Gobber, because my right-hook man is going to be doing his duty for his chief." Stoick countered, throwing Gobbers words back at him. "The one who'd be nothing without him." He said with a chuckle as he left.

"Yeah, our dad tried out the Thunder-ear and it worked all too well for him." Hicca explained.

"Thunder-ear. I've got a different name for it." Gobber grumbled.

The people of Berk had a peaceful night, except for Gobber who had to fulfill his duties as right-hook man (he may or may not have kicked the Thunder-ear, the Haddock twins didn't need to know.) The next day, however, the peace was gone as three very loud screeches filled the village.

Hiccup immediately woke up to the said screeches. "Oh, what... what... what's happening? What?" He and Toothless ran outside their house where they met up with Hicca and Midnight, who had no doubt long awoken before them. Stoick then came out on high alert from the screeches.

"What's going on?" Hiccup asked his dad.

"I was about to ask you two the same question." Stoick replied.

"Well, we have some visitors." Hicca said, looking very nervous. Midnight had an equally guilty expression.

They then saw three very familiar dragons fly by them. "Aren't those the same baby Thunderdrums we saw yesterday?" Stoick questioned.

Hiccup looked at his twin, who was getting more nervous. "Sis, what's going on?"

"In my defense, there was no better way Midnight and I could have handled the situation." Hicca said quickly. "We woke early as usual and we remembered the baby Thunderdrums from yesterday and we decided to go back to where we found them just to see if their parents picked them up. We went there and found that not only were they still there, but they were also less energetic than they were yesterday. In fact, they were feeling kind of down. At first I thought, something was wrong medically or they hadn't eaten properly. So Midnight and I brought them back to Berk so that we could take care of them and well, they went back to their energetic selves as soon as we landed."

The three humans and two dragons watched as the baby Thunderdrums flew around Berk at high speed, firing sonic blasts around them just for the fun of it.

"Still think they're cool?" Stoick asked his son.

"Um, I'm on the fence." Hiccup said.

"Well, get off it and do something before we have to rebuild the entire village." The chief said.

At that, the auburn twins immediately got on their dragons and flew off to try and stop the younger dragons. The other dragon riders and their dragons came as well.

Raeda and Sparkfire watched as the baby Thunderdrums flew by very fast. "Where do these guys get their energies from?" The Henderson girl asked the purple Nadder who just squawked in reply.

"Meatlug, look at the little baby Thunderdrums." Fishlegs cooed. "They are so cute." Just then the three Thunderdrums fired a sonic blast at him and Meatlug, causing the former to get dazed. Fortunately the Gronckle was able to fly them both out of there. "Thanks, girl."

Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless started chasing after the baby Thunderdrums. "Okay, guys, fun time's over!" Hiccup shouted to the three dragons.

"Come on, be good dragons and stop. Please!" Hicca pleaded, but the Thunderdrums continued on their little rampage on Berk.

Hiccup noticed that they were flying straight to Silent Sven. "Duck, Silent Sven!" The older viking ducked just in time, saving himself from getting slammed by three very fast Thunderdrums who flew right by.

"Sorry about that, Sven." Hicca called out as she and her brother flew by Sven.

Hiccup then noticed the three younger dragons fly right into the forge. "Oh, come on, not…" Sure enough sonic blasts can be heard from inside the forge.

"My shop!" Gobber exclaimed.

"Sorry, Gobber. We're trying our best." Hiccup said. They were definitely going to have to work overtime at the forge to make up for this.

The two teens and dragons were then joined by Astrid, Raeda, Stormfly and Sparkfire. "Should I even bother asking what's going on?" Astrid said rhetorically.

"Out of control baby Thunderdrums." Was all Hiccup said.

"Yeah, that much is clear from this whole scene." Raeda said.

"And I'm guessing you'd like them under control?" Astrid asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"That would be preferred, yes." Hiccup said.

"Can you help me wrangle them into the academy?" Hicca asked.

"Thought you'd never ask." Astrid said.

The four humans and dragons continued their chase for the younger dragons around the village. But it seems that no matter how close they get, the Thunderdrums always manages to escape their grasps.

"Wow, they're slippery little guys." Astrid commented.

"No kidding." Hicca said.

The baby Thunderdrums then flew by the Thorston twins, who were on their dragon. "Whoa! What are those things?" Ruffnut asked, looking at the rampaging dragons.

"They are loud and destructive dragons." Hiccup explained to the blonde twins. "We have to stop them."

"Au contraire. We must own them." Tuffnut said with determination.

"Immediately." Ruffnut agreed with equal determination

"You're all mine." Snotlout yelled at one of the baby Thunderdrums he was chasing after. He and Hookfang chased after the baby dragon all around the plaza. The baby dragon lead the two older boys into a catapult, where it made a sharp turn, avoiding the catapult just in time. Snotlout and Hookfang weren't as lucky though. "I'm coming in too hot! Pull up, pull up!"

CRASH

Stoick watched the chaos all around his village and sighed. "Do I have to do everything myself?" The chief asked Thornado. He then got on his dragon and joined in the chase. But it wasn't a chase for long as Thornado gave out a loud, authoritative roar, which made the baby Thunderdrums halt in their flying and land side by side, just like yesterday.

"Well done, Dad." Hiccup praised, relieved that the chaotic chase was finally over.

Fishlegs observed the now calm baby dragons. "Look at that. They're putty in Thornado's hands-paws-claws-er, whatever."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut then had Barf and Belch land next to the baby Thunderdrums. "Okay, we want that one." Tuffnut declared, pointing to the blue Thunderdrum.

"No, that one." Ruffnut argued, pointing to the purple Thunderdrum.

"It's such a hard decision. Okay, we'll take the set." Tuffnut decided.

"Quiet!" Stoick yelled. He then turned to his children. "Hicca, Hiccup, I want you to get those troublemakers off this island now."

"Okay, we'll go, but know this. Our mother will miss us." Tuffnut said. His twin nodded in agreement.

"Not you. The dragons." Hiccup said to the blonde twins in exasperation.

"Oh." Tuffnut said with a laugh. "You had me there for a minute, chief. Because we're also... troublemakers."

"Dad, we can't get rid of them. They're babies, they don''t know any better. Kicking them out would be just plain cruel." Hicca argued.

"Hicca's right dad, don't you think we'd be better off training them?" Hiccup supported. "Think about it, they're fast, powerful…"

"Destructive, loud, and out of control." Stoick finished for his son, gesturing to the damage caused by the three little dragons.

"Uh, chief, you're kinda making Hiccup's argument for him." Tuffnut pointed out.

Gobber walked up to the group and offered his input. "The lad's got a point, Stoick. A squadron of Thunderdrums would be tough for Dagur and the Berserkers to defend against."

Stoick thought about that for a minute. "You two really think you can get them under control?" He asked his kids.

"I know we can. They're young, they're still learning. No doubt we will be able to teach them well." Hicca said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, look how great Thornado turned out to be." Hiccup pointed out.

The chief looked at his own dragon. "Well, he is quite spectacular."

"We can do it, chief. Please let us try." Raeda begged.

"All right, fine." Stoick conceded. "But the first sign of trouble, they go. Thornado isn't their mother or a babysitter. He's got chiefly duties, just like I do."

"Dad, you won't be sorry, I promise." Hiccup reassured. "I already have a whole plan laid out on how to train them."

They brought the baby Thunderdrums to the Academy to begin training. Unfortunately for the teens and the adult dragons, the babies decided they had enough of their calm mood and started screeching once again.

The teens cringed and covered their ears. "Okay, now might be a good time to roll out that big plan of yours." Astrid yelled through the screeching.

"Right, right. Big plan." Hiccup rambled on. "Uh, okay."

"Let me guess, you have no plan." Astrid said, rhetorically.

"And you just said that so that your dad wouldn't worry." Raeda said. Also rhetorically.

"You... you're both right. That would be correct." Hiccup admitted.

"Well, don't you think you better get one before our ears explode?" Raeda shouted.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were both covering their eyes along with the others, perked up at the last statement. "Wait! Wait, our ears can actually explode?" Tuffnut exclaimed in excitement.

"Let's see!" Ruffnut yelled, before shoving her twin in front of the screeching Thunderdrums.

"Yes, explode, explode!" The blonde twins chanted amidst the screeching.

"Come on. Don't encourage them." Hicca yelled.

"The Thorston twins or the Thunderdrums?" Fishlegs asked.

"Neither." Hicca answered.

Thornado was sitting on the stands of the Academy watching the progress, or rather the lack of, inside. The older Thunderdrum was contemplating on stepping in and helping, feeling a connection with the baby dragons, when he was suddenly called by his human. "Thornado! Thornado, let's go." The Thunderdrum went to the chief, deciding to let the teens find another way to handle the baby dragons.

"All right, so, uh, I guess the first thing we should do is name them." Hiccup yelled through the screeching as the baby dragons. Seriously how have the baby dragons not ran out of energy yet.

"No, first thing we need to do is to get them to shut up!" Snotlout yelled back.

Fishlegs came up with an idea. He went to one of the baskets in the Academy and took out its contents. He then called out to the baby Thunderdrums getting their attention. "Over here!" The baby Thunderdrums immediately went to him and ate the contents he offered to them. The younger dragons then landed on the ground, once again calm and docile.

"Dragon nip." Fishlegs explained to the others while holding up some dragon nip. "Old school, but effective."

"Great. But we can't have them laying around in a haze doing nothing all day." Hiccup pointed out.

"Yeah, that's what the Thorston twins are for." Snotlout said.

"Whoa, whoa, don't judge. We already did something today." Tuffnut retorted.

"Yeah." Ruffnut backed up.

"What? What did you do?" The Jorgenson boy challenged.

"What did we do? What did we do?!" Ruffnut exclaimed, before pausing for a minute. She then turned to her twin. "Uh, what did we do?"

"We named them." Tuffnut answered.

"Oh, this should be good." Raeda said, rolling her eyes as she thought of all the possible names the Thorston twins could have come up with. All of them would definitely have something to do with chaos or destruction.

"Oh, it is." Ruffnut promised as she and Tuffnut walked behind the Thunderdrums.

"Ready?" Tuffnut asked the others. "Now wait for it." He then pointed to the green Thunderdrum. "Bing!"

"Bam!" Ruffnut announced, pointing to the blue Thunderdrum.

"And... Lloyd." Tuffnut finished, pointing to the purple Thunderdrum. "You can thank us later."

"Bing, Bam and Lloyd?" Hicca questioned.

"Two out of three sensible names. That's something for the Thorston twins." Raeda muttered.

"Call me crazy, but I'm thinking there might be a more logical choice than 'Lloyd'." Fishlegs said to the blonde twins.

"Like what?" Ruffnut asked.

"Uh, Boom?" Fishlegs suggested.

"Oh, yeah, I guess that could work." Tuffnut said, though he didn't sound completely convinced. "No way. How about Darren? Sorry, Lloyd."

Hiccup decided to move on. "All right, now that that's all taken care of, let's try some actual training."

"Uh, voting is still open on the Lloyd thing, though, right? Right?" Tuffnut asked. "Okay. Okay, just checking. Darren's still on the table, though, right?"

The first step to training the Thunderdrums: Establish the bond.

Hiccup and Hicca did that with the former placing his hand on Bams' snout and the latter placing her hand on Bings' snout. Both were hesitant given the high chances of the effects of the Dragon Nip wearing off, but once they place their hands on the baby Thunderdrums' snouts, the younger dragons purred and nuzzled into their hands.

Hiccup gave a sigh of relief. "Wow, that could have gone far worse." He said to his twin.

Suddenly the effect of the Dragon Nip decided to wear off and all three baby dragons gave out a sonic roar at the auburn twins, knocking them into Fishlegs and Raeda.

You mean like that?" Fishlegs wheezed, recovering from the crash.

"Yep, exactly like that." Hiccup said in a strained voice.

"You just had to jinx us, didn't you bro." Hicca said to her twin

Step Two: Teaching basic commands

Or at least trying to.

"Stay. Stay." Astrid ordered the three Thunderdrums.

Immediately the three baby dragons started flying around the Academy once again.

"Clearly 'stay' isn't in their vocabulary." Raeda sighed.

Stormfly found the baby dragons annoying as they started flying around her. The blue Nadder retorted by shoving all three of them to the other side of the Academy as far away from her as possible.

"Well, that should teach them." Astrid said.

"No that shouldn't. Stormfly, that was harsh. They're just babies! You could have injured them!" Hicca reprimanded.

But the baby Thunderdrums were clearly okay as they got back up and went back to pestering Stormfly, causing Astrid to sigh in annoyance.

"Well, at least they're okay." Hicca said in relief.

Step Three: Target Practice.

"This is what you guys need. Something you're supposed to destroy." Snotlout explained to the three Thunderdrums, who were listening to him in curiosity. He then gestured to one of the target barrels, which have been set up for this exercise. "Hookfang, show 'em how it's done." The Monstrous Nightmare wasted no time firing at the target, getting a bullseye. Snotlout then gestured to the other three target barrels, telling the baby Thunderdrums that it was their turn. But the baby dragons were distracted and were looking elsewhere, much to Snotlouts' annoyance. "Here. Right here, Thunderdumbs. Do I need to spell it out for you? Destr-" He stopped when he noticed that the Thunderdrums were getting ready to fire their sonic blasts, but not at the targets, at him! "Oh, no!" Was all he said before he was blasted to the wall by three strong sonic blasts. "Bull's-eye." Snotlout wheezed out.

Fishlegs then stepped up with a sword in his hand. "Okay, I'm gonna show you how to disarm an attacker." He said, holding up his sword. Bing suddenly snatched his sword away from him. "Oh, my sword!" The Ingerman boy then started chasing after Bing, who then tossed the sword to Bang. It soon turned into a game of 'Keep away' as the three Thunderdrums continued to toss the sword at each other and away from Fishlegs. "Ah! What? Give me that! No, come... come on, you guys. This isn't the exercise." Fishlegs repeated as he continued to tried to catch the sword as it was tossed back and forth between the three dragons. The boy was then relieved when he saw that Meatlug caught. He thought he would finally get his sword back only to see his own dragon tossing the sword away from him and towards Lloyd/Darren/Boom. "What? You too, Meatlug?"

Step Four: See if the Thorston twins can get through to the baby dragons

"Okay, here we go. Repeat after me." Tuffnut said, before clearing his throat. He then started belching out "A. B." Surprisingly the Thunderdrums actually did as they were told.

"Hey, uh, not to be a wet blanket, but how is this helping anything?" Hiccup asked.

"How is it hurting?" Tuffnut retorted.

"He actually does have a point." Hicca admitted.

"Sadly that's the most progress we've made with these dragons all day." Raeda said.

Ruffnut then belched out the letter 'C', but instead of repeating after her, the Thunderdrums fired another sonic blast at Snotlout, throwing him to the wall.

"See? They love it!" Tuffnut said, completely oblivious.

The baby dragons, once again, flew around the Academy screaming at the top of their lungs, causing everyone else to cover their ears. "Oh, not so fast, fellas. We still have a few more exercises to work on." Hiccup yelled through the screams. Toothless voiced in his own protests. With the way the training was going since they started, the male Night Fury was definitely not eager to continue. Hiccup noticed this. "I know, pal. The word 'excruciating' comes to mind."

The Thorston twins were the only ones who didn't have a problem with the baby dragons, as the two humans continued to cheer the three dragons on.

Then suddenly, to the surprise of everyone in the Academy, Bing, Bam and Lloyd/Darren/Boom suddenly stopped screaming and landed back to the ground, looking much tamer.

"Huh, will you look at that? Finally getting through to them." Hicca said, looking at the three babies with a surprise look on her face.

Hiccup then saw Thornado walking into the Academy and put two and two together."Well, someone is." He then got an idea. "Okay, Thornado. How about a little follow the leader?" Thornado nodded and started flying around the Academy, with the three younger dragons obediently following him. It was clear that Bing, Bam and Lloyd/Darren/Boom has taken Thornado as their father figure.

"That was promising. Eh, bud?" Hiccup said to Toothless as the Thunderdrums landed.

"Yeah, I hardly recognize them." Astrid agreed.

"We can make so much more progress if we keep Thornado with us while training them." Hicca said.

But the Thorston twins weren't happy to see the baby dragons in a non-destructive state. "What did you do? You've ruined them. Oh, Lloyd! I'm so sorry, Darren."

"Thornado? Thornado!" Stoick called out, walking into the Academy. "Come now. We have chiefing to do."

Reluctantly, Thornado went to his human, hoping the others would have better luck now.

Stoick looked at the obedient-looking new dragons and seemed impressed. "Hmm. Well, that's an improvement. Well done, kids."

"Oh no." Raeda muttered as she and the others watched as the chief and the older Thunderdrum walked away.

"Well, no, Dad, it's actually…" Unfortunately Hiccup didn't explain it in time as his father and Thornado left the Academy and the baby dragons wasted no time getting rowdy again, much to the dismay of the others (except the Thorston twins).

"Oh, for the love of Thor." Hiccup sighed. His eyes then widened when he noticed the baby dragons flying towards the entrance of the Academy, which was left slightly opened by the chief. "Tuffnut, the gate!" He yelled to the Thorston boy, who was the closest to the gate.

Tuffnut nodded in understanding. "Got it." He ran to the gate as fast as he could and managed to beat the baby dragons to it. But instead of closing and locking the gate, the blonde boy actually opened it completely, allowing Bing, Bam and Lloyd/Darren/Boom to fly out.

Hiccup gave out a groan of annoyance.

"What?" Tuffnut asked, completely clueless

"Tuffnut... you were suppose to close the gate and lock it so that the baby Thunderdrums wouldn't escape!" Raeda growled, as she walked up to the male Thorston and hit him on the head.

"Okay, a little clarity next time would help." Tuffnut said, rubbing his head.

By the time the teens got on their dragons and flew to the plaza, the chaos that came in the morning came back as the baby dragons continued on their rampage.

"Oh, come on." Hiccup groaned.

"Hiccup! Hicca!" Stoick shouted as he and Thornado flew to them. "I thought you two had them under control."

"Well, I did, sort of, but…" Hiccup tried to explain, but stopped when he saw his fathers' face. "Not at all." Then Llyod/Darren/Boom flew by, firing a sonic blast at them, which they dodged. "Okay, we really didn't."

"They will only listen to Thornado." Hicca explained

"Ah, will these dragons ever quiet down?" Stoick asked.

"Sure, once they find their grown-up voice." Fishlegs answered.

"And how long will that take?" The chief asked.

"It shouldn't be more than a couple of... years." Fishlegs answered meekly

Stoick turned to glare at his kids. "We should probably go and try to stop the baby Thunderdrums." Hicca said, getting the message.

"You're absolutely right, sis." Hiccup said. The teens split up to try and stop the rampaging Thunderdrums.

The Thunderdrums flew around the plaza and a bunch of angry vikings. Barf and Belch were tailing them. "Just want you to know, we're big fans." Tuffnut called out to the Thunderdrums.

The baby Thunderdrums then took a sharp turn and that was when the Thorston twins noticed the Haddock twins flying at them at high speed in an effort to catch the Thunderdrums.

"Look out!" The Thorston twins yelled in unison. But it was too late as the two Night Furies and the Zippleback collided with one another sending them and their riders falling to the ground.

Snotlout and Hookfang managed to corner one of the Thunderdrums. "Ha ha! End of the line, Bing. Or are you Lloyd?" Snotlout asked the Thunderdrum, who was actually Bang. Said Thunderdrum then fired a sonic blast at the duo, sending them back and allowing the baby dragon to escape.

Bing flew to one of the sheep pens and started firing at the poor sheeps inside, sending them running around their pen.

"Stop right there, Bing!" Raeda shouted as she and Sparkfire flew to the pen.

"You leave those sheeps alone!" Fishlegs demanded, accompanying the Henderson girl.

The Thunderdrum decided to comply, which actually was unfortunate because it then turned its' sights on Fishlegs and Raeda. It started firing at them and their dragons.

"Never mind. I wasn't that close to them." Fishlegs said hurriedly as he and Meatlug flew to safely, leaving Raeda and Sparkfire.

"Seriously?" Raeda said to Fishlegs and Meatlugs' retreating forms before Sparfire dodged another sonic blast.

Stoick watched the chaos unfold, feeling a sense of deja vu. "Ugh, it's ridiculous. They look like Gobber wrestling a greased yak." He said. Looks like it's time for the chief to step in once again.

The baby Thunderdrum continued to race around the plaza, until they were cut-off by Astrid and Stormfly. "Don't even think about it." The blonde girl warned.

Stoick looked to his kids who were flying towards him along with the other teens and their dragons. "Remember how you said I wouldn't be sorry?" Stoick reminded his kids.

"This is outrageous!" One viking man said in the background, reminding the chief the numerous complaints he will receive from his people thanks to the Thunderdrum trio.

"Uh, yes?" Hiccup answered meekly.

"Well, I'm officially sorry." Stoick said. "You need to find those dragons a new home, kids. The Thunderdrums have to go."

The auburn twins sighed. Both knew very well that any protest they could give would be overpowered by the sight of the massive damages in the village.

The dragon riders and dragons brought the three Thunderdrums to Dragons Island, their new home. "Okay. Bing, Bam, and Boom, welcome to your new home: Dragon island!" Hicca said to the baby dragons. "You're gonna love it here. Plenty of room."

"Lots of new dragons to annoy... I mean, meet." Hiccup said. "You know, here, you can be as loud as you want. It'll be great."

The baby dragons looked up at the teens in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on and why they came to this island.

"Whoa. This is kinda sad." Ruffnut said, looking sadly at the three baby Thunderdrums.

"Yeah. Reminds me of the time our parents took Sam, our pet yak, out to that farm to live." Tuffnut said, also sad.

"Yeah, I would have cried all night... except for those delicious yak steaks we had for dinner." Ruffnut said, suddenly perking up at that memory.

Tuffnut also perked up. "Oh, nothing better. And to eat them in those soft yak jackets."

"Do you think we should tell them." Raeda whispered to Hicca.

"Don't, there's enough sadness here already." Hicca whispered back.

Snotlout on the other hand didn't feel sad at the departure. "Okay, great. Check you later." With that, he got on Hookfang and flew off. The other teens except for Hiccup and Hicca, got on their dragons and flew off as well.

"Bye Bing, Bam and Boom. I'm definitely going to miss you. Midnight and I will come and visit." Hicca said to the baby dragons before she and her twin got on their dragons and flew off to join the others.

The Thunderdrums watched as the humans and older dragons flew away, wondering where they were going.

Hiccup looked back at Dragon Island. "They'll be happy there. They'll love it." He said to the others, though he was more trying to reassure himself.

"What's not to love? It's an island full of dragons." Fishlegs agreed.

"They will definitely make a lot of friends there." Raeda chimed in.

"And, I mean, like Hicca said, we can come visit them, right?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure, but they won't be there." Tuffnut said nonchalantly.

"Why not?" Hicca asked.

"'Cause they're right behind you." Ruffnut answered, pointing with her thumb.

Hiccup and the others looked and saw that the three baby Thunderdrums were indeed right behind them. "What?" Hiccup asked in disbelief. "Oh, great. What do we do now?"

"I'll tell you what we do. We ditch 'em!" Snotlout said. He then steered Hookfang back to Dragon Island with the baby dragons following him. Snotlout and Hookfang then found an entrance of a cave on the island and flew into it, the Thunderdrum trio not far behind. After a bit of maneuvering, the boy and Nightmare emerged out of another tunnel of the cave and quickly rejoined the others.

Snotlout smirked as he saw that none of the baby dragons followed them. "We did it, Hookfang. Stupid baby dragons." However he was soon proven wrong when Bing, Bam and Lloyd/Darren/Boom appeared right in front of him. "Oh, no." The Thunderdrum trio fired another sonic blast at Snotlout, knocking him off Hookfang and sending him to freefall into the ocean.

Hookfang, however, didn't seem to noticed that his rider fell off.

"Uh, Hookfang?" Hiccup called to the Monstrous Nightmare.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled from below. The Monstrous Nightmare finally noticed his rider falling and flew down to save him.

"Wow. That was fun. Let's try Snotlout's plan again." Astrid said, actually enjoying the last part of Snotlouts' failed plan.

Hiccup and Astrid flew back to Dragon Island with the Thunderdrum trio following and soon distracted the younger dragons by gathering a pile of fish to eat. The baby Thunderdrums were all too eager to eat all the delicious fish given to them.

"I think this might be our chance to go." Hiccup said to Astrid.

"Yeah, and I say we take the long way home this time, so they don't follow us." Astrid suggested.

Hiccup and Astrid quickly got on their dragons and rejoined the others as they took the long way back to Berk. Throughout the whole journey, everyone was on high alert, looking any signs of the Thunderdrum trio around and satisfied to find none. They made it back, happy that the Thunderdrums finally stayed put on Dragon Island, only to be met with Chief Stoicks' stern look. The chief gestured to the ground, which was inhabited by three baby Thunderdrums!

Hiccups' eyes widened in shock at what he was seeing. "Oh, what... I just... are you... how?" He stammered.

"Looks like these guys remembered the way back to Berk." Hicca said.

Stoick sighed. "Never mind. It looks like Thornado and I are gonna have to give you dragon training geniuses a hand."

This time, Hiccup, Hicca, Stoick, and Fishlegs took their dragons and the baby Thunderdrum to Dragon Island.

"I hope this works." Hiccup said.

"Thornado has a way with them. It'll work." Stoick reassured with confidence.

Bing started to stray from the group, but Thornado noticed and immediately roared at the younger dragon to fly back, which it did immediately.

"Attaboy, Thornado." Stoick praised. "Sometimes you need to show teenagers a little tough love. That's right, I said it." He directed the last sentence to his kids,

"Dad, their babies, not teenagers." Hicca said., while her brother rolled his eyes.

The group made it back to Dragon Island "Okay, so this is it." Hiccup said, turning to the Thunderdrum trio. "Listen, guys, Berk just isn't the island for you. There's too many Vikings and not enough places for you guys to play."

The baby Thunderdrums started whimpering as they finally caught onto what was going on.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. Stop making that whimper sound. Don't make this any harder than it already is." Hiccup pleaded.

Unable to stand the baby dragons sad eyes and their whimpering, Hicca caved in. "Maybe we can work out another way for them to be on Berk!" She said before going to comfort the Thunderdrum trio.

Stoick stopped her, before she could. "Let's let Thornado have a word with them."

The older Thunderdrum stepped in and gave out a roar. The younger Thunderdrums stopped whimpering but were still looking sad.

"Well, that's done. Put that in the Book of Dragons." Stoick said to his kids as he got on Thornado. "Thornado, back to Berk." Reluctantly Hicca, Hiccup and Fishlegs got on their dragons and followed the chief. As they flew away from the island, the auburn twins couldn't help but give one last glance behind them.

"Don't look back, kids. Remember, tough love." Stoick advised.

Then as if sensing something, Thornado suddenly stopped and turned around back to Dragon Island. Confused the others turned to see what the blue Thunderdrum was looking at a were shocked to find that Bing, Bang and Lloyd/Darren/Boom were now surrounded by wild dragons, and none of them looked friendly as they growled at the baby dragons, causing them to cringe in fear.

"Looks like they might not be welcome on Dragon island either." Hiccup said.

"Maybe that's why we found them out on the sea stacks to begin with." Fishlegs surmised. "Oh, they were probably chased there."

"And that's why they kept coming back to Berk." Hicca added.

"Well, I guess we're not gonna let any wild dragons bully our boys, are we?" Stoick said to Thornado before they both flew in to the Thunderdrum trios rescue.

"Tough love, huh?" Hiccup said before he and the others followed. The poor Thunderdrum trio kept getting harassed by different dragons no matter where they flew off to. They tried to fired a few sonic blasts, but they had no lasting effect against the much older dragons. Just as a Monstrous Nightmare started advancing on them, Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless swooped in. "Okay, bud, light 'em up." Hiccup ordered.

"Fire, girl!" Hicca ordered.

Both Night Furies fired plasma blasts after plasma blasts at the Nightmare, until it flew away in defeat.

A Deadly Nadder was about to fly in and attack when it got intercepted by Fishlegs and Meatlug. The Gronckle fired lava blasts at the Deadly Nadder, making it back away as well. "Yay, team." Fishlegs cheered to Hicca and Hiccup.

Seeing the dragons and teens coming in to defend the baby Thunderdrums made some of the older dragons back off, but not all. A Hideous Zippleback was about to fire at the group when a loud voice called to them.

"Hey, you two!" The Zippleback turned to see Stoick and Thornado just before the Thunderdrum fired a strong sonic blast at it, making it fly away. Stoick looked around and saw that there were still quite a few wild dragons left who weren't ready to give up.

Thornado then growled to the baby Thunderdrum who nodded back.

"Hiccup, Fishlegs, Hicca!" Stoick called out to the teens, sensing what the Thunderdrums are planning to do. The three teens and their dragons caught on as well because they covered their ears just before the four Thunderdrums let out powerful sonic blasts at the rest of the wild dragons, sending them all flying away.

"Whew, sure taught those wild dragons a lesson." Hiccup said with satisfaction.

"Yeah, this time." Fishlegs pointed out.

"Fishlegs is right. If we leave now, there will be no one to protect these baby dragons from the wild dragons and we can't take them with us. What do we do?" Hicca asked.

Stoick was silent as the teens tried to come up with an idea. As he watch the baby dragons nuzzle Thornado to show their appreciation, the chief knew that there was only one decision he could make. Without a word, Stoick got off Thornado and started to unbuckle the saddle.

Hiccup paused in his thinking when he noticed this. "Dad? Are you... okay?"

"Yes, son. I think we both know what we have to do, don't we, Thornado?" Stoick said sadly. He knew things wouldn't be the same without Thornado by his side, but he also knew that this was the right decision to make.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Hicca asked.

"I'm setting Thornado free. Do what any chief would do in this situation. Or any father." Stoick said, looking at his kids before looking back to his dragon. "These boys won't survive without you. Right now, they need you more than I do." Thornado gave his human a sad look as he nuzzled his snout into his palm. "Ah, I understand. I'd do the same thing. It doesn't mean I won't miss you." Stoick said, rubbing Thornados' snout. He then got up and went to sit with Hiccup on Toothless, signaling the others that it was time to leave. "Take care of your new family." With that the humans and dragons took off as the Thunderdrums stood and watched.

It was a silent during the flight, Stoick wasn't in the mood to start any conversation and the teens didn't know what they should say to the chief.

Hicca finally decided to break the silence. "Listen dad." Stoick look to his daughter. "I know it's difficult, to say goodbye. It's how we felt when we had to say goodbye to the baby Night Furies." She said gesturing to herself, Midnight, Hiccup and Toothless, who all nodded in agreement. "Just know this; if you love someone you set them free and one day fate will bring you both back together."

"Hicca's right, Dad. I'm sure this isn't the last we've seen of Thornado and the baby Thunderdrums. And you definitely did the right thing." Hiccup agreed.

Stoick gave his kids a small smile and looked back to Dragon Island which was disappearing from view. "Good-bye, old friend."


	22. Cast Out Part I

**A/N: Second last chapter of the series! I can't believe I got this far and I hope to go even further with my stories. And to add to that I finally got 100 reviews! Thank you guys so much for your support I really appreciate it and a big shout out to Musical Ninja for being the 100th viewer of this story. I know some reviewers have given me ideas for my stories which I didn't use, but that doesn't mean I've casted them aside completely. Just stay tune. And for the guest who suggestion for one of the scenes, I already worked that out before you gave it your review and I felt that, that one fits in better. Thanks anyways. Anyway onto the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 22: Cast Out Part I**

"Nothing like starting the morning with a good ambush." Gobber said to Bucket and Mulch.

For their training today, Hiccup and Hicca had Gobber, Bucket and Mulch and a few other vikings positioned at the catapults, ready to fire at the dragon riders on sight.

Right on cue, the dragon riders flew above them.

"Catapult, fire!" Gobber ordered the vikings on ground as soon as he saw the dragons. Immediately, large boulders were hurled at the dragons.

Fishlegs was the first to spot the boulders. "Ambush!"

"Plasma blast, bud!" Hiccup ordered.

"Midnight, fire!" Hicca ordered.

The two Night Furies were able to hit their targets spot on, clearing away some of the boulders, however, there were still many boulders coming one after another, causing the dragons to dodge them.

One of the boulders came inches away from hitting Ruffnut.

"That thing almost took my head off!" The Thorston girl commented.

"It did?!" Tuffnut asked, getting excited. He then turned to the people on the ground. "Gobber! Do it again!"

"Fall back, everyone! There's too many of them!" Hiccup ordered, as the vikings on the ground reloaded the catapults. At the command he and the rest of the dragon riders flew away from the oncoming boulders.

Well almost everyone.

"You fall back! I am going in to finish this!" Snotlout exclaimed to his retreating team-mates.

"Snotlout, that is not the exercise! Retreat!" Hiccup demanded, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Not again." Hicca muttered.

Snotlout flies right towards the catapults, much to the surprise of Gobber and the other vikings below. "I got your retreat. Right here!" With that, Hookfang fired right at the catapults, causing all the vikings to quickly jump out of the way. Satisfied by the job well done, Snotlout and Hookfang flew back to the group, but what they didn't notice was that the one of the blasts caused a reloaded catapult to launch a boulder. The boulder flew right passed Snotlout and Hookfang, neither of whom have noticed, and towards the rest of the dragon riders and dragons.

Raeda saw the boulder flying right towards Astrid and Stormfly!

"Astrid, look out!" The raven haired girl yelled.

Astrid looked turned back to see the boulder heading towards her and Stormfly. On instinct, the blue Nadder quickly swerved and dodged the boulder, but Astrid was caught off guard by this and wasn't prepared. This caused her to lose her grip and her balance off her saddle and she suddenly found herself free-falling!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"ASTRID!" Hiccup yelled. Immediately he had Toothless nosedive right after her at top speed, hoping to catch her before she hit the ground. Astrid hit a few branches in her fall, causing her to lose consciousness. The last thing she saw was Toothless flying closer to her...

When Astrid woke up, she was meet with a concerned Hicca

"Oh, thank goodness! You've regained consciousness." Hicca sighed in relief

"What? What happened?" Astrid asked, dazed and confused.

"Snotlout happened." Raeda explained, anything but impressed at the stunt the Jorgenson boy pulled, and she wasn't the only one.

"You have no visible injuries, which I find is extremely lucky, given the fall." Hicca explained. "If Hiccup and Toothless hadn't caught you in time…"

She didn't finish her sentence and she didn't need to.

That moment Hookfang chose to land with the group. Snotlout jumped off his saddle, still feeling the triumph after firing at the catapults.

"Yeah! That's right! That's how Snotlout retreats: he doesn't! Click-click-boom!" He boasted, still uncaring or completely obliviousness at what happened to Astrid. The silence made him notice the other teens and dragons were just staring at him with expressions ranging between disbelief and anger. "What? Why are you all looking at me? I mean, listen, I know why you all are looking at me." He flexes his arms as he says this. "What? It's Hiccup and Hicca's stupid exercise!"

That was the last straw for Hiccup as he got up and stormed to Snotlout. His cousin has pulled off many stupid stunts in the past, no matter how much Hiccup and his twin told him to stop, but this time he has gone too far.

"You have no idea what you did, do you?!" Hiccup demanded in a tone of anger, even the Thorston twins flinched at it.

Snotlout, however, was somehow immune to this. "Yeah. Hookfang and I made the coolest trick shot ever."

"You almost got Astrid killed!" Hiccup exclaimed, enraged.

"Come on, she's fine. Look at her." Snotlout said nonchalantly, gesturing to the Hofferson girl who was leaning on Hicca for support as she stood up.

"No thanks to you." Having recovered from her fall, the Hofferson girl immediately charged at the Jorgenson boy ready to beat him to a pulp. Hiccup stopped her before she could reach Snotlout and held her back.

"Okay, alright. Easy there, Astrid!" Hiccup said, holding onto Astrid. He was still mad at Snotlout, but not enough to want to see him beaten up.

Astrid ignored the Haddock "I'm going to kill you!" She exclaimed, struggling to break free from Hiccup.

Hicca then went to them and helped her brother in calming Astrid down. Astrid finally gave in and walked away with Hicca, angrily muttering something along the lines of taking Snotlouts' helmet and shoving it…

"Honestly, Snotlout-" Raeda began, but surprisingly Hiccup was the one who cut her off.

Seeing that enough is enough, Hiccup knew a certain decision had to be made. "That's it. I am tired of this."

"I'm tired of this! What are you tired of?" Snotlout retorted.

"You always have to do things your way." Hiccup said in exasperation.

"Well, guess what? I look out for number one." Snotlout stated, first gesturing to himself, then to Hookfang. "And one 'A'."

"Exactly. How can we rely on you if you don't do what we ask?" Hiccup said, trying to make his cousin understand.

"So, what are you saying, Hiccup?" Snotlout mocked with his arms crossed.

Hiccup took a deep breath. Snotlout would resent him for this, but he seriously needs to draw the line. "I'm saying, until further notice, you're suspended from the Academy."

"What?!" Snotlout exclaimed in outrage.

The other teens were shocked by this as well, even Hicca. They'd never thought they would see Hiccup this angry at anyone before.

"You're grounded." Hiccup stated firmly.

"T-that's- Hicca!" Snotlout immediately turned to the female Haddock. "You're the co-leader here, step in!"

"I have no objections to this decision." Hicca said once she recovered from her shock. As surprised as she was by her brothers burst of anger, she couldn't help but agree with his decision. Snotlout needs to understand the consequences of his decision. He has no idea how bad this could have ended for Astrid and as the healer of the group, Hicca needs to look after the well being of her brother and friends.

"Are you serious?!" Seeing that Hicca wouldn't budge, Snotlout turned his attention back to Hiccup. "You can't ground me! You're not my dad!"

"Yes, I can!" Hiccup countered, determined not to let his cousin get his way.

"Oh, really?!" Snotlout challenged glaring at the Haddock boy. Hiccup glared back, not holding back any anger he felt for Snotlout nearly endangering Astrid. Though Snotlout would never in his life admit it, he did felt a little intimidated by Hiccups' glare, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. "Watch!" He broke the glaring contest and immediately mounted Hookfang before Hiccup could stop him. "Ground this, Dragon Boy!"

"Am I wrong in thinking that grounding means staying on the ground? Because that looks an awful lot like, uh, 'skying'." Tuffnut commented.

Astrid walked up to Hiccup. "You did not have to do that for me, Hiccup."

"If we can't count on him during practice, how can we possibly count on him the next time we run into Dagur?" Hiccup stated.

No one could come up with a reply to that. The young Berserker chief was already a menace to them on his own. It wouldn't help the dragon riders if there was discord within the group.

Speaking of Dagur, the deranged teen was at the Great Hall on Outcast Island, glaring at a drawing of Toothless and Midnight.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Night Fury. How are we doing today? Happy? Feeling 'Hiccup-y' and 'Hicca-y' good?" He said to the drawing in a taunting manner. "Just a big love fest over there on Berk isn't it? Well, that's going to change very soon. That's right. You and I are going to spend some quality time together, ramming it up-"

"Dagur!" Savage called, interrupting Dagurs' monologue. "I have news regarding our latest Dragon Root tests."

"What did you call me?" Dagur asked, turning to glare at his right-hand man.

Savage realised his mistake and immediately corrected it. "Right, sorry. Your, uh, 'Derangedness'."

Dagur calmed down after that. "Ah, rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?"

"Uh, yes. Anyway, the Dragon Root test worked exactly like you thought it would." Savage continued. "The wild dragons fought for it like, well, you know, wild dragons!"

Dagur was thrilled at the news. "Excellent! What shall we do next? So many options!"

"Oh, what if we keep an eye on Berk for the right time to plant it?" Savage suggested.

"So simple, yet, so deranged. I like it!" Dagur exclaimed with a wicked grin. "When the time is right, we will put my plan into motion, and the Night Furies will finally be mine!"

Back on Berk, Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless have just arrived back at the Academy where the rest of the teens and dragons were, except for two.

"So, let me guess, Snotlout is out flying?" Hiccup said with a sigh. It was more of a statement then a question.

"You didn't hear it from us." Tuffnut said, while he and his twin were busy moving stuff into Snotlouts' pen.

"He wasn't asking you." Raeda said.

"Exactly." Tuffnut said, pointing at her before going back to his work.

Hiccup was contemplating on going out and searching for Snotlout, when he noticed what the Thorston twins were doing. Experience taught him not to dismiss any suspicious actions from the blonde twins. "And, what are you two doing?" He asked them.

"Well, we figured with Snotlout kicked out of the academy and our pen next to his, we'd knock down a wall, create kind of a better flow." Tuffnut explained. "It's a Feng Shui, obviously, in remembrance of Snotlout. He will be forgotten. Will-sorry-will not be forgotten."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't kick him out of the academy. He just suspended from the academy." Hiccup said

"Unfortunately." Raeda muttered under her breath

Tuffnut frowned a bit in thought "Well what choice did you have? After his fragrant disregard to both yours and Hiccas' leadership? I mean he deserve to have his pen... merged with another pen."

"Yeah the only remaining choice is total expulsion." Ruffnut agreeing with her twin. "Or you two run the risk of losing the respect of the other dragon riders."

"Wow! They actually have a point." Astrid said surprise

"I know. I don't know whether to be annoyed or amazed that they're the ones who pointed it out." Hicca said.

"I choose amazed, and a little worried." Raeda said.

"And we're not just saying that because we're planning on putting the curtains right here." Ruffnut continued, pointing to a portion on the wall of the pen.

"I'm good with fabric, who knew, I also do some needlepoint." Tuffnut said holding up a well-designed violet cloth.

"Hey, that's pretty good." Raeda said impressed.

 **(Thank you to snake screamer for helping with this scene)**

"Yes! We got the 'Raeda stamp of approval' for this fabric. We're definitely keeping it!" Tuffnut declared, clutching onto the fabric. "We'll hang this up once we knock down the wall."

"No one is knocking down anything, we will talk to Snotlout when he gets back." Hiccup said firmly. "He is suspended not expelled so you guys don't get to have his pen."

"You know Hiccup, with these kind of choices you make, it makes me wonder; can you make the right choices with people like Snotlout when you become the next chief." Tuffnut suddenly said.

"Where in the world did that thought come from?" Raeda questioned.

"I don't know. Somewhere along the lines of randomness." Tuffnut answered shrugging.

"Well, it's an unnecessary thought, Tuff, you know very well that my brother will be a great chief when his time comes." Hicca said with full confidence.

"Hicca, don't you think that when your brother becomes chief that he's gonna start treating you differently?" Ruffnut questioned.

"Uh no and why would I think such a thing?" Hicca replied.

"Uh duh, that's what happens with new chiefs, they start treating everyone differently, even their own siblings." The Thorston girl answered.

"That does not happen!" Hiccup exclaimed defensively.

"Yeah Ruff, and even if that was true, I highly refuse to believe that my brother will change like that when he becomes chief and what would make you say something this ridiculous?" Hicca asked in disbelief.

"Well me and my twin would tell you but…" Ruffnut trailed off.

"But what?" Hicca demanded.

"You're just so wrapped up in your sisterly relationship to understand." Tuffnut finished.

"That is not true! And who are you guys to judge me on my sibling relationship with Hiccup, anyways!" With that, Hicca stormed out of the Academy.

Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight glared at the Thorston twins. "Thanks a lot guys, you've just successfully drove my own sister away and just so you two know that I would never ever do that sort to her or any of you." With that Hiccup also left followed by the Night Furies.

 **(A/N: Thanks to Rachel for this scene. I know you've noticed I've made some changes, I just felt that this would be a better flow with the story. I hope you don't mind)**

"Hiccup!" Raedas' voice called out, making the Haddock boy stop in his tracks. He turned and waited for his best human friend and her dragon to catch up to them. "Look don't take what those two muttonheads said seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if they can't remember this later on." Raeda joked, hoping to lighten the mood. "We all, especially Hicca, know that you'll be a great chief when your time comes and there's no way that this or anything else could come in between yours and Hiccas' bond."

"I don't even want to think of when I become chief. The whole thing is still... well... you know-" Hiccup tried to explain.

"I do." Raeda said, nodding her head in understanding. "And it's not something you'll face on your own. You'll have the support of our friends, our dragons, Gobber, me, Hicca and your dad."

"Yeah, I have a feeling I'll be going to my dad all the time for advice when I become chief." Hiccup said. "Speaking of, I could really use his input on the Snotlout situation. Can you do me a favour and check on Hicca for me? Just make sure that she isn't too upset by the Thorston twins comments."

"Of course." Raeda said. "Come on, Sparkfire, Midnight."

As soon as the three girls left, Hiccup and Toothless made their way to the Haddock Household, where they found Stoick with a large ice-block on his head. It was one of those days…

"Tough day, dad?" Hiccup asked.

"Aye, some days it's not easy being a leader," His father admitted.

"Tell me about it," Hiccup muttered, definitely able to relate. "Think I may have a little situation with Snotlout."

"And what's he done this time?" Stoick asked, handing his son a smaller ice block.

Hiccup took the ice block and placed it on his head. "He disobeyed a direct order, so I grounded him with Hicca agreeing and now he's refusing to obey that order," He explained. "Hicca and I don't know what to do. Do we expel him from the Academy for good?"

"Is that what either of you really want?" Stoick asked placing his ice block on the table before getting up.

"No!" Hiccup said immediately. As angry as he was at his cousin, he couldn't take away Snotlouts' right to fly around. That was just too cruel of a punishment "But I also don't want to put the other riders in risk. Same with Hicca"

Stoick contemplated on his son's situation. "Tough one," He finally said. "Decisions like this, never easy. I've made more than a few in my day."

"Then how do you do it?" Hiccup asked. "How can you be someone's leader and still be their friend?"

"You can't… not always." Stoick replied, his eyes to the ground, as if remembering something. Hiccup was disheartened by the answer, hoping to hear something else. "Son, someday you will be chief and when that day comes you'll have to makes choices not for your friends or for yourself, but all of Berk."

That was Stoicks' final advice and that did not help Hiccup one bit. The Haddock boy had no idea what to do.

Meanwhile Snotlout decided he and Hookfang needed a break away from Berk. He and Hookfang flew a great distance away from their home as the human of the duo searched below for a deserted island. His eyes zeroed in on one. "Right there! Take us down Hookfang!"

The Monstrous Nightmare complied and Snotlout immediately jumped off the saddle and surveyed the area. Satisfied with what he sees, Snotlout turned to Hookfang. "Welcome to our new home Hookfang. I call it Snotland." The Jorgenson boy declared.

Hookfang huffed, not really liking his "new home".

Snotlout didn't really pick up on that. "You like that, don't you." Hookfang snorted at the comment. "Who needs that stupid Dragon Academy and the Haddock twins rules? All of this is ours. That tree? It's ours." Snotlout gestured to one of the trees, the same one the Hookfang sets on fire not a second later just to bug his human, not that Snotlout noticed. "That rock? Its' ours." He then gestured to a rock, which Hookfang set on fire as well. Again Snotlout didn't notice. "That wrecked Outcast ship? Our-" Snotlout started to say, before he realised what he saw.

His eyes widened and his defenses were up, remembering that his last encounter with the Outcasts led to him being kidnapped and taken to Outcast Island. Snotlout and Hookfang began to investigate.

With his hammer ready, Snotlout slowly and quietly approached the wrecked ship, while signalling Hookfang to follow quietly. However, Hookfang was a dragon not known for stealth as he raised his wings up high and stomped as he followed his rider. After a few failed attempts to get Hookfang to be quiet, Snotlout decided to give up and continued to approach the Outcast ship, prepared for any surprise attack.

WIth his hammer up Snotlout ran and jumped into the ships' hull and readied his hammer, only to be surprised to find it empty.

Confused, Snotlout got out of the ship and was about to comment on the empty ship when the ground shook! "What was that?" Snotlout asked Hookfang. Suddenly the ground started shaking again, causing Snotlout to panic. "Oh, great, you had to pick an earthquake-prone island, didn't you?" Despite the situation Hookfang rolled his eyes at his riders comment. It was one of those many times where he wished he could communicate with his human so he can give a snappy retort.

Then from the grounds emerged the Screaming Death, which clearly became stronger and more destructive overtime!

"SCREAMING DEATH!" Snotlout shouted. "We gotta get back and tell the others!" He scrambled to get on his feet until Hookfang picked him up with his mouth, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the Screaming Deaths' spiky tail. Quickly Hookfang tried to fly himself and Snotlout away from the Isle, which proved to be difficult with the Screaming Death at their tail. Trying to avoid the rogue dragon, Hookfang turned to the cliffs, but his sudden steer caused him to get hit, making him lose his grip on Snotlout.

Snotlout fell to the ground and was knocked out cold. The Screaming Death then made a nose-dive to finish off its unconscious victim, when suddenly, a large figure swooped in a pulled the boy out of the way just before the dragon hit the ground, causing it to go underground.

With the Screaming Death underground and out of sight. Hookfang landed and got a look at his riders savior, only to be shocked by who it was…

There were many things Hookfang promised to himself he would never do no matter what, such as never letting Snotlout steer him into the centre of a dormant volcano, again. And with him being the stubborn dragon he is, Hookfang knew he would keep his promises. But right now, with the passenger riding in his saddle along with his unconscious rider, the Monstrous Nightmare definitely broke his self-made promise as Berk came into his line of sight.

He landed in the plaza as Snotlout was dropped from his saddle. The villagers nearby gathered around the unconscious boy.

"Is that, Snotlout?" A Viking woman asked.

"Is he dead?" Another Viking woman asked.

The vikings all looked at one another and came to the same conclusion; Snotlouts' dead. They then yelled 'Viking funeral!' excitedly and started discussing preparations.

Snotlout then got up amidst the noise. "No funeral, not yet." He muttered, loud enough for the vikings to hear. They all sighed in disappointment.

Stoick and the Haddock twins pushed through the crowd to the front when they heard the commotion. "Okay, okay, what's going on here?" The chief demanded. "Who is…?" He stopped in his tracks when he and the others finally noticed the figure who was still saddled on Hookfang.

The shock filled the plaza, for the last time the figure on Hookfang was seen was by Hicca and Midnight back on Outcast Island and he went underwater just before the Skrill electrocuted the ocean. This person should be dead.

The figure was Alvin the Treacherous.

"I captured him." Snotlout said weakly, before he passed out. As shocked as Hicca was at seeing the former Outcast leader, she put that to one side of her mind as she went to check on Snotlout for injuries.

"Alvin!" Hiccup and Stoick both exclaimed, glaring at the man as he got off Hookfang. All the vikings surrounding them grabbed a weapon or anything that can resemble a weapon and had them ready just in case. There was no telling what Alvin would do, and no one was ready to take the chance.

Stoick wasted no time. He had Alvin chained up in manacles and brought him to the Great Hall where Gobber read him his sentence. Surprising, the former Outcast offered no resistance, but that didn't help anyone calm down. It actually made them more on guard.

Gobber read Alvins' charges from a scroll. "Alvin the Treacherous, you are hereby charged with the following crimes; treachery, attempted treachery, premeditated treachery, conspiracy to commit treachery and… well you get the idea." He finished rolling up the scroll. That's when the rest of the vikings started voicing in their opinions.

"Settle down everyone." Stoicks' loud voice boomed above the angry shoutings. As soon as everyone was silent, the chief turned to Alvin. "Alvin the Treacherous you will be remanded in our jail until a proper sentence can be handed down."

"Is this how you treat a man who saved a valuable life?" Alvin asked.

"Valuable?" Tuffnut snorted.

"Snotlout?" Ruffnut said in a questioning tone. Before either of the blonde twins continue to voice their thoughts, they were silenced by Raedas' glare, this was not the right situation for their input.

"I know you Alvin," Stoick said, glaring at the other man as he walked up towards him. "You didn't do this for Snotlout. You did it for yourself."

"What could I possibly have to gain from coming here?" Alvin countered. "I did it for us both Stoick. I have a proposition for ya."

"Not interested," Stoick quickly dismissed. There was no way he was listening to this mad man, not after what he did to his children. He then turned to address the crowd. "That's it everyone, go home!"

Slowly the crowd dispersed, muttering a few choice words about the former Outcast chief, as he was taken to the cells by a few viking guards.

That's when Hicca, Astrid and Fishlegs ran up to Hiccup.

"Hiccup! Snotlouts' awake and fine, but he gave us some news you're going want to hear." Hicca informed her brother.

"Apparently Alvin wasn't the only big nasty creature on that island." Astrid said.

"The Screaming Death, it's closing in on Berk," Fishlegs finished fearfully.

"That's just fantastic news," Hiccup muttered sarcastically. He then sighed. Today just wasn't his day. "Come on."

The teens were about to leave the Academy when Hiccup stopped his twin. "You guys go on ahead to the Academy." He said to the other teens who did as they were told.

"What's wrong, bro?" Hicca asked.

"I just wanted to make sure that you didn't think I would treat you differently if/when I become chief."

It took Hicca a second to realise what her twin was talking about. "Oh, that! Bro, you don't have to explain anything. As if I would listen to the Thorston twins before listening to you! Don't worry about that. Ruff and Tuff don't even remember what they said about that!"

"Figures." Hiccup said with a smile. He was relieved to know his sister didn't think any less of him after that discussion. "Great, then let's go join the others."

Once the auburn twins rejoined the others at the Academy, they started doing some serious training to prepare themselves for a possible Screaming Death attack. Well most of them were except for Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who went back to redecorating Hookfangs' pen.

Hiccup saw this and huffed in annoyance. "Come on you guys, focus. We need to figure out a way to stop the Screaming Death from reaching Berk."

Fishlegs and Meatlug were in the middle of practicing another maneuver when suddenly Snotlout and Hookfang flew in and bumped into the former duo, sending them spinning.

"Hey everyone, did you miss me?" Snotlout asked, getting off Hookfang as soon as the Monstrous Nightmare landed. "Of course you did." Clearly the Jorgenson boy has fully recovered from his fall.

"Oh, great! I can't return this fabric." Tuffnut grumbled, having spent hours trying to put a sharkskin rug on the wall of Hookfangs' pen. The blonde boy sat down with his arms crossed and the rug immediately fell on him, much to his twins' amusement.

The others paused in their training and landed as well.

"Snotlout, I'm pretty sure I put you on bed-rest for the rest of the night." Hicca said, though it was more of a statement.

"And I'm pretty sure I didn't like the idea." Snotlout retorted.

Hiccup sighed in annoyance. As relieved as he was to see that his cousin is okay, he can't let go of the fact that Snotlout disobeyed his and his sisters' orders again. "Snotlout, I'm very happy you're okay," He started to say

"Oh, me." Snotlout interrupted, sticking his chest out "I'm more then okay."

"You broke the rules, again." Hiccup continued. "And you almost got yourself killed in the process."

"So?" Snotlout asked, crossing his arms.

"So, you're still suspended," Hiccup announced.

"What?!" Snotlout gasped in disbelief.

"All right, back in business!" Tuffnut exclaimed, jumping up from under the sharkskin rug. He and his sister went back to remodeling, Hookfangs' pen.

"I found the Screaming Death and captured Alvin the Treacherous!" Snotlout argued.

"Weren't you unconscious when you 'captured' him?" Astrid pointed out.

"Unconscious like a fox," Snotlout declared proudly, not seeing the problem.

"Uh, that doesn't even make sense to me and I am foxy like a badger," Tuffnut said before the sharkskin fell on him again.

"I don't know what either of you are trying to say, but those expression don't exist." Raeda said.

"Look, nothing's changed you're still suspended," Hiccup said firmly as he went to Hookfang. "I'm sorry, come on Hookfang."

He guided Hookfang to his pen to ensure Snotlout doesn't fly off again and tossed out the sharkskin rug. Hiccup and Ruffnut then closed the gate to the pen.

"You can't do this, Hiccup!" Snotlout protested. "You can't take away my dragon!" Hiccup ignored him and pulled the lever, locking the gate. "Hookfang." He then turned to the female Haddock. "Hicca, stop him!"

But Hicca just looked away, knowing her brother was doing the right thing.

Snotlout then stormed off, angered at the situation.

Raeda, Astrid, Fishlegs and Ruffnut brought their dragons to their pens before leaving the Academy with the Haddock twins. However, it seemed that everyone failed to notice something.

"Uh, hello Viking in the dragon pen?" Tuffnut called out, still locked inside Hookfangs' pen with the Monstrous Nightmare. "Guys?"

Unbeknownst to them, Dagur and his soldiers were a good distance away from the Academy and was watching everything through a spy-glass.

He gave a smirk at what he saw "Perfect, the dragons are locked up in the arena," He said, looking at Savage and his Berserker soldiers. "Aw, by the time Hiccup, Hicca and their dragon dunderheads get to them it'll be too late."

He looked at the Berserker crate that was placed next to him and kicked the lid opened. He then gave a maniacal laugh as he saw what was inside the crate.

Inside the crate was a dragon root.

Later that day, Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight flew to where the jails were and found a crowd of vikings have gathered and were shouting angrily at the prisoner, Alvin.

The two teens and dragons, pushed their way through the front of the crowd and glared at Alvin. They weren't here by choice. Astrid brought prison food for Alvin earlier and was told by the former Outcast chief that he wanted to see the Haddock twins.

"Astrid said you wanted to see us," Hiccup said, causing Alvin to chuckle. The two Night Furies growled in warning. "Want do you want Alvin?"

"I have proposal for you two," Alvin offered, getting up.

"Oh, this should be good," Hiccup said sarcastically, already knowing that he and his sister would say no.

"And you think we'll say yes to this because…" Hicca trailed off.

"That Dagur, he's a bit of a loose catapult wouldn't you say?" Alvin asked.

"That's one way of putting it." Hiccup admitted.

"That's actually a nice way of putting it." Hicca said.

"Well, he fought me off me own island and I want it back," Alvin explained.

"What, so you can get back of the business of destroying our island?" Hiccup asked, with his eyebrows raised.

"Oh, no my boy I was upset," Alvin said, defensively.

"For twenty years?" Hicca questioned.

Very upset." Alvin added. "You know losing everything tense to make a man see things differently."

"So you're saying… you changed?" Hiccup asked, doubt and disbelief clear in his voice.

"I'm saying I'm trying to." Alvin insisted.

"All right, let's say, hypothetically, we accept this proposal what's in it for Berk?" Hicca asked.

"The Berserks gone and the Outcasts your allies." Alvin promised.

The Haddock twins looked at each, both with the same question in mind. Could they trust Alvin? If they trust him and he breaks his promise, all of Berk will face the consequence, the two teens more than anyone else. But, if he comes through with his promise, the war between the Berserkers and Outcast would come to an end.

This was not a decision they could make on their own.

Neither teens said anything as they walked away from the jail, followed by their Night Furies who gave one last warning growl to the prisoner before leaving.

Their walk back home was silent throughout but both twins came to an agreement that in order to make this decision, they need to talk to their dad about Alvin. Which is easier said than done since Stoick always refused to talk about Alvin in anything other than battle tactics.

The twins were staring at their father, trying to figure out a way to bring up the subject, when Stoick spoke up.

"All right, spit it out kids." Stoick said. "Both of you have been staring at me all night."

Hiccup took a breath before speaking. "What exactly did Alvin do to get cast out?"

Stoick looked taken aback, definitely wasn't expecting this question. He quickly recovered and looked away. "I don't want to discuss it." He said firmly, not wanting the memories to come back.

"But we just need to know." Hicca protested. "Where did it all start? I mean—"

Stoick suddenly slammed his fist on the table, making Hicca stop talking and the twins looked at their father in shock. "It doesn't matter where it started! Just where it ended."

"Yes, but we just want to know we… we need to know." Hiccup tried to reason.

"We just want to get a better understanding on the situation." Hicca agreed

"All you two need to know is that Alvin is our enemy!" Stoick yelled get up. "And that'll never change."

He walked away, giving his kids no chance to say anymore.

At the Academy Stormfly, Sparkfire, Hookfang and Barf and Belch were sleeping peacefully in their pens. None of them were aware of the trouble that was about to come as Dagur and his soldiers stood in the stands.

"Dragons, come and get it." The deranged teen said in a sing-song voice. He then dropped the dragon root inside the Academy causing the dragons inside to immediately wake up with its' scent.

Back at the jail cell, the angry crowd finally got tired at yelling at Alvin and left to their own homes. Therefore, the former Outcast chief was surprised to a see a visitor at this time of night.

He chuckled as he saw who it was. "Well, there he is. Looking much better than the last time I saw ya." He said to Snotlout Jorgenson.

Snotlout huffed at that comment. "You know, I could've made it off the island without your help."

Alvin chuckled again "Of course you could of. I probably jumped in too soon, eh." He said, deciding to humour the boy.

"Ha, definitely." Snotlout agreed.

There was then an awkward silence as the teen tried to find something to say. He didn't really think of what he would say to the former Outcast chief, just wanted to make sure the older man knew he wasn't weak.

Alvin decided to break the silence. "You know, boy, you and I are a lot alike." Alvin said.

"Oh, really." Snotlout said in disbelief. Was he actually being compared to Alvin the Treacherous. "How's that?"

"People don't appreciate how you do things." Alvin explained.

"Huh, you know, you're right; they don't, stupid people." Snotlout couldn't help but agree, especially due to recent events

"You know this is wrong, don't you?" Alvin continued.

"What's that?" Snotlout asked.

"Locking me up like this," Alvin answered, gesturing to the cell.

"I don't know, it seems right to me," Snotlout said. "You've done some crazy stuff, Alvin."

"But I also saved your life, Snotlout," Alvin pointed out. "I didn't have to bring you back to Berk. I could have left you on that island and I'll be a free man today, but I didn't."

Snotlout was conflicted about this. The Jorgenson boy would never, ever, in a million years admit to this, not even to himself, but Alvin was right. The only reason the teen was alive and back on Berk safely was because of the former Outcast chief.

"All I want is my island back." Alvin pleaded. "If you let me out, you'll never see me again." Snotlout looked at him, still conflicted on what to do. "You owe me at least that, Snotlout."

Before Snotlout could decide anything, a loud horn could be heard around the village.

"Eh, what's that?" Alvin asked.

"That's the warning signal," Snotlout answered before going outside to see what's going on. There, he saw Vikings running around the plaza. Astrid was running past him but stopped when she noticed him. She ran up to him.

"Snotlout, come on," She said, panting.

"What? What's going on?" Snotlout asked.

"It's Dagur, he's been spotted by the academy and the dragons are in trouble." Astrid explained before running off towards the arena. It also explains why Snotlout was being called despite his suspension, Hookfang is in danger

"Hookfang," Snotlout gasped as the realisation came to him, worried filling his eyes.

He was about to follow Astrid, but Alvin called out to him. "Wait, Snotlout I can help!" He yelled, having overheard what Astrid said. "Dagur hasn't come alone, you need me."

Snotlout stood there, looking back and forth between Alvin and the direction of the Academy. The Jorgenson boy was even more torn between what decision to make. 'It could be a trick.' His mind said. 'Alvin could have rescued you knowing that he would be captured and thrown to jail the second he steps foot on Berk. Bringing you back could be a way to ensure he could be free and able to do whatever he wants with nobody expecting it.' But then Snotlout remembered what Hicca said about Alvins' last encounter with Dagur and how the younger chief betrayed him and tried to kill him. Snotlout knew that as much as Alvin hated Berk, he definitely hated Dagur more and would do anything to get revenge.

While Snotlout struggled to make a decision, the rest of the teens and Meatlug, Midnight and Toothless were gathered outside the Academy and they watched as Stormfly, Sparkfire, Hookfang and Barf and Belch were inside causing a rampage.

Something in the middle of the Academy caught Raedas' eyes and she immediately figured what was causing the dragons to act this way. "Dragon root!" She exclaimed, pointing to the piece of dragon root in the Academy.

The others looked and saw that, indeed, a lone piece of dragon root somehow ended up in the Academy.

"This is definitely Dagurs' doing." Hicca said. "He's probably somewhere around here enjoying the show."

"We'll worry about him later, sis." Hiccup said. "Right now, we need to focus on getting the dragon root out of there."

That's when Snotlout caught up to the group, with a guilty expression. "Hiccup, Hicca, listen I need to tell you two something," He said, unsure of how to tell them what he did.

"Snotlout, not now," Hiccup said.

"It's important I—"

But Hiccup stopped him before he could speak any further. "I said not now," Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs and Meatlug. "All right, Fishlegs, this is all you. Hicca, Midnight, Toothless and I can't go in there because our dragons will be affected by the root. You and Meatlug have to fly in and get that root out there while the others distract their dragons."

"You hear that, girl?" Fishlegs asked Meatlug. "It's up to you and me."

She responded with a lick on her riders cheek, saying that she was ready to do her best.

Hiccup opened the gate to the Academy before stepping aside with his sister and their dragons. Raeda, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut cautiously walked inside and towards their respective dragons, while Fishlegs and Meatlug hovered above them.

"Stormfly, no!" Astrid pleaded, hoping her dragon would try to regain some control for her. No such luck as the blue Nadder fired a stream of fire at her, which the blonde girl luckily dodged in time.

Snotlout was having similar problems as he ran up the wall to avoid getting burned by Hookfangs' fire. "This was a bad idea!" He yelled as he ran.

Raeda tried to get behind Sparkfire to smooth out her tail, a method known to calm Nadders down. However, Sparkfire spotted her and readied her tail before firing her spines at her rider. Raeda quickly got out her bow and deflected the spines.

The Thorston twins were running away from Barf and Belch as the Zippleback started spraying out its' gas at both his riders. Neither humans were appreciating this kind of chaos.

Fishlegs found an opening and quickly had Meatlug dive down. The Gronckle grabbed the dragon root and flew towards the exit as fast as she possibly could. Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran along with the Gronckle duo, ready to get to safety. Just as they were a second away from reaching the outside of the Academy, the gates suddenly closed on them!

Two Berserker soldiers appeared on the other side of the gate and started laughing at the trapped teens.

The Haddock twins and the Night Furies then appeared in front of the Berserker soldiers. Midnight and Toothless growled at the two soldier, their pupils narrowed into slits.

"Open the gate!" Hiccup demanded. "Or else-"

"Or else what?" An unfortunately familiar voice challenged.

The four of them looked to the source of the voice and found none other than Dagur the Deranged with a smirk. And with him were many Berserker soldiers, positioned around the group of four with their crossbows aimed at them. "You were right, Hicca, I was definitely enjoying the show."

"Dagur, what do you want?" Hiccup asked.

"What I always wanted… the Night Furies." Dagur answered. "Hand them over and we'll leave peacefully, that's your choice. Your dragons or your friends." He then gave a maniacal laugh. "Isn't this exciting? What will they choose, ladies and gentlemen?"

"I can't believe he actually thought this plan through." Hicca gritted, looking back at the chaos in the Academy.

"Better decide quick. Your friends won't be able to survive very long with those out of control dragons." Dagur taunted.

And unfortunately, Dagur was right. The teens inside the Academy were struggling to dodge the attacks from their own dragons

Meatlug was flying around, trying to dodge the dragons who were coming after her for the dragon root, which was a struggle for her going against the faster dragons.

"Can't keep this up much longer." Fishlegs yelled to the Haddock twins.

Stormfly fired some spines at Astrid, who cartwheeled to a shield before using it to cover her seconds before it got covered in spines. "Neither can we." She admitted. She didn't want to make this difficult for Hicca and Hiccup, but she couldn't pretend everything was okay.

"You can't let Dagur get what he wants. There's got to be another way!" Raeda yelled, before throwing a barrel up to take a blast by Sparkfire.

"Speak for yourself!" Snotlout yelled to Raeda as he continued to avoid the line of fire by Hookfang.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were clutching on the locked gate, trying to find a way out of there

"So, Hiccup, Hicca, what's your answer?" Dagur asked, knowing he would win either way.

Before either one of the twins could think of something to say, a loud voice caught everyones' attention. "The answer is we run you through and opened the gates ourselves!"

Everyone turned to see Stoick, Gobber along with many viking soldiers all armed and ready for a fight. At the Berkian chiefs' signal, the Berk soldiers charged at the Berserker soldiers, starting an intense battle to free the teens trapped inside the Academy.

Some of the Berserker soldiers fired at the twins and the Night Furies, but thanks to Toothless and Midnights' plasma blasts and Hiccups shield, none of them got hit. The two Night Furies then fired at the soldiers, knocking them down

With his hammer, Stoick knocked down several Berserker soldiers through before reaching the gate. He grabbed the chain and was about to pull it, when suddenly a voice called to him.

"Stoick!" The chief looked and was shocked to see none other than Alvin the Treacherous charging towards him. On reflex, Stoick ducked and Alvin jumped… and kicked Savage right as he tried to attack Stoick from above!

Alvin elbowed his former second-in-command and gave another kicked that sent him staggering back.

"You!" Dagur exclaimed at Alvin, not believing what he was seeing. He thought he electrocuted the former Outcast chief to death.

"Me." Alvin responded with a smirk, glad to have caught the deranged teen off guard.

"Alvin!" Stoick yelled getting his attention. Alvin turned and caught a sword that was tossed to him by the Outcast chief himself. He just looked at the sword in surprise before looking back at Stoick. Was Stoick actually going to trust him?

"Well, don't just stand there!" Was all Stoick said, before charging at some more Berserker soldiers. To say that he was taken by surprise by the sudden turn of events was a complete understatement. But that matter can wait until they deal with the Berserkers. Stoick could only hope he wouldn't regret handing Alvin the sword.

Alvin gave a smirk and joined the Berkian chief in battling against the Berserkers. This gave Stoick the chance to finally open the gate to the Academy, freeing the teens and Meatlug. Hiccup, Toothless, Midnight and Hicca then flew in.

"Fishlegs, this way!" Hiccup shouted to the Ingerman boy, pointing to the now opened exit.

"We'll cover you!" Hicca reassured.

Meatlug immediately flew towards the exit. The other dragons tried to go after her, but were herded away thanks to Toothless, Midnight and their plasma blasts.

Fishlegs and Meatlug, flew as fast as they could, and were so intent on getting the dragon root out of there that they didn't try to manoeuvre around Stoick as he was fighting a Berserker soldier. Instead, the boy and Gronckle accidently rammed into their chief and the soldier, knocking them both to the ground.

"Sorry, chief!" Fishlegs yelled, as Meatlug flew away to find a safe place to dispose of the dragon root.

Bruised from the battle, Savage came up to his chief. "Our plan has failed. We must retreat," He said to Dagur, knowing that they will now be the ones at a disadvantage.

Angry by the turn of events, Dagur shoved the older man aside. "I am not leaving Berk empty-handed!"

His eyes then went to Stoick who was struggling to get up after getting hit by Meatlug. A smirk came back to the young Berserker chief as a new idea came to his mind. "Follow me." He instructed his soldiers who were standing nearby.

With the dragon root finally far away from the Academy, the other dragons were able to regain their senses and return from their hostile states. Their humans came out of hiding and slowly approached their dragons.

Astrid and Raeda were the first to go close to their dragons. Seeing that neither dragons are attacking them anymore, the two girls smiled and hug their respective dragons.

"Come here, you stupid dragon, I love ya." Snotlout said, giving Hookfang a hug, glad that the threat of becoming barbecue is gone.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut both hugged the heads of their Zippleback. "Ah, you guys, thanks for not killing us," Tuffnut said to Barf and Belch. He then used his hand to hide his mouth from his twin and spoke in a low voice to the dragon. "Well, thanks for not killing me… could have done with one less Nut, if you know what I'm saying." Ruffnut, who overheard that, just rolled her eyes.

"Thank goodness everyones' okay." Hicca said, as she, her brother and their dragons watched the exchange.

"Hiccup! Hicca!" Gobber yelled, getting the twins attention. The auburn twins and their dragons ran to Gobber, concerned by the alarm in his tone. And they saw why. At the cliffs stood Dagur, Savage and some Berserker soldiers who had Stoick bounded and at swordpoint.

"Dad!" Hiccup and Hicca yelled.

"Nobody make a move," Dagur threatened, holding the sword closer to Stoick, stopping everyone in their tracks.

"Dagur!" Alvin growled glaring at the younger chief.

"You coward!" Hicca yelled.

"We'll be leaving now and if I see one dragon following us, rider or not, you're going to be looking

for a new chief," Dagur said laughing madly.

The Haddock twins could do nothing but watch as the Berserkers left. Both were hoping for some glimmer of hope where they could rescue their dad, but sadly, none came.

"We'll be in touch, bye-bye," Dagur called as they set sail.

Hiccup quickly turned to the others who were gathered behind him and his sister. "Okay, we take the south pass, cut them off at the beach and smash their boats before they—"

"Don't do it, boy," Alvin interrupted. "You back a man like that into a corner you may not like the outcome."

"Especially when that man travels with a hundred ship armada," Gobber agreed.

"But we have to save our dad!" Hiccup protested, sounding frantic.

"Dagur is not going to hurt your father… yet." Alvin informed them grimly. "Stoick is not what he wants."

"He's right," Gobber said.

"You want us to trust him?" Hiccup asked Gobber, gesturing at Alvin.

"If there's one thing Alvin knows, Hiccup, its treachery," Gobber answered.

The Haddock twins walked to the cliffs and looked at the direction where the Berserkers left. Silently, they held onto each others' hands as tight as they could. They were going to need each other now more than ever.


	23. Cast Out Part II

**A/N: I'm leaving my full a/n at the end**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

 **Chapter 22: Cast Out Part II**

 _Previously on Defenders of Berk_

 _There is a slight discord within the Dragon Riders as Snotlouts defiant nature went too far, leaving Hiccup and Hicca no choice but to suspend their cousin from the Dragon Academy. Rebelling from his leaders, Snotlout stumbled onto the Screaming Death and Alvin the Treacherous, who was revealed to be alive this whole time. The former Outcast leader willingly came back to Berk where he was jailed for his crimes. Alvin offered a truce, claiming to have change, but nobody trusted him. Things went bad when Dagur and his soldiers trapped most of the teens in the Academy with a dragon root, causing the dragons inside to go crazy, in order to get Hiccup and Hicca to hand over Toothless and Midnight to him. But thanks to help from Stoick, Gobber and the Berk soldiers, the Haddock twins were able to foil the Berserker chiefs' plan. However, Dagur was determined not to leave empty-handed and ended up taking Stoick hostage back to Outcast Island._

 _What will happen now?_

Dagur, Savage and a few soldiers walked into the Outcast Arena, where they found their prisoner, Stoick the Vast bound in the center. "Hmm. I trust you're finding your accommodations adequate?" Dagur said to the Berkian chief in mock kindness. Stoick remained silent as he glared at the younger chief. Dagur wasn't fazed by this. "Gosh, those ropes look awfully tight." He signalled his soldiers to adjust Stoicks' binding, but instead of loosening them, the guards tightened them even more. If the chief felt discomfort by this, he was doing a great job hiding it.

"Don't go getting too cozy, Stoick." Dagur continued with a sadistic grin. "Look at it this way. By sundown tomorrow, you'll either be back on Berk or at the bottom of the ocean. It's really up to Hiccup and Hicca. Oof, wow, can't feel too good about that." Stoick continued to glare at Dagur, not saying a word.

Dagur then left his prisoner and took out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Savage, deliver this ultimatum to Berk." His second in command nodded and took the parchment.

The next morning, the situation in Berk was anything but calm since Stoick was kidnapped.

At the Haddock household, Hicca and Midnight were looking for Hiccup and Toothless. All the villagers were gathered in the Great Hall to discuss a plan to bring back their chief and as the older sibling and acting chief, Hiccup was needed to address the villagers. But neither he nor his dragon was anywhere near the Great Hall so his twin and her dragon were sent to go look for him while Gobber tried to calm the crowd in the Great Hall, which was easier said than done.

After looking in her brothers room and finding it empty, Hicca and Midnight then went to Stoicks' room, the second likely place Hiccup would be at. That was where they found the missing duo, where the human was sitting at the foot of the bed and the dragon was staring at the human with a worried expression.

"Hiccup." Hicca called to her brother.

"He was right there, sis." Hiccup said, his eyes downcast. "I could've saved him. I could've done something. I could've-"

"This isn't on you Hiccup." Hicca interrupted. "There was nothing you or any of us could've done to prevent this. We can't dwell on the past. Right now, we're needed in the Great Hall."

She extended her hand to help her brother off the bed. However, he ignored it and got up himself leaving the room with Toothless following him. Hicca and Midnight exchanged a look before leaving to catch up with the boys.

The four of them enter the Great Hall, where they found every villager crowded around the center stage yelling at the top of their voices. Gobber was at the front of the stage trying to calm them down.

The Haddock twins and their dragons pushed through the crowd and found the Thorston twins, who were also shouting with the crowd.

"We want answers!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Tell us the truth!" Ruffnut demanded.

"Yeah!"

"Come on, enough of this!"

"What is going on?" Hiccup asked the blonde twins.

"I have no idea, but everyone's shouting, and I am totally into that!" Tuffnut explained excitedly.

"We're so angry!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Everybody shake your fists! Now look to the sky!" Tuffnut yelled to the crowd.

The fact that the vikings actually did what the Thorston boy told them to do emphasised how angry they were at their chief being kidnapped.

"Really not helping, Tuff." Hicca deadpanned.

That's when Gobber noticed the Haddock twins in the crowd and quickly made a beeline to them and brought Hiccup to the stage. "Everyone settle down. Hiccup will answer all your questions." The blacksmith/ dragon dentist announced.

"Why him?" Snotlout asked, clearly not happy with that.

"He's the acting chief. That's why." Gobber answered as he and Hiccup reached the stage with Hicca, Astrid and Raeda following them. "They're all yours."

"Right." Hiccup muttered. This was the moment he was dreading. How in the world could he address the entire village like this? He may have been better with the dragon riders but he and his twin were both addressing six teens, half of whom actually listened intently to them.

Back to the current situation the vikings started voicing (read: yelling) their demands again.

"What are we gonna do?"

"Where's Stoick?"

"When can we start yelling again?" That question came from Tuffnut.

Hiccup gave a quick glance to Hicca, who silently told him to stay strong. "Good questions. Mostly." At the last word, Hiccup gave a quick glare to Tuffnut before going back to addressing the crowd. "Um, as you all know, Berk is no stranger to hard times. But the best thing is to…"

"Take arms!" One viking interrupted.

"Man the catapults!" Another viking shouted. This started yet another shouting match within the crowd.

Smirking at his cousins' lack of success, Snotlout made his way to the stage and shoved Hiccup aside. "Why don't you step aside and watch a real chief in action? Hookfang?" He snapped his fingers, leading to the Monstrous Nightmare to flame. This moved stunned the crowd to silence. "That's better. Now, here's how it's gonna go." Snotlout turned around as he begun his speech, but unbeknownst to him, he rear caught fire thanks to Hookfangs' flame up, which the crowd definitely noticed.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut snickered at that. "You are on fire, Snotlout." Tuffnut shouted to the Jorgenson boy

"Thank you, citizen." Snotlout replied as he turned back, thinking that Tuffnut meant it as a compliment. He was about to continue when he smelled smoke which was oddly nearby. He finally noticed that he was literally on fire and started screaming as he ran around. Silently, Gobber picked the boy up and put him in a nearby trough full of water, causing Snotlout to sigh in relief.

The vikings muttered to one another, clearly not impressed by the "real chief".

Hiccup decided to try to regain control before things got out of hand, again. "Okay, good. So where were we?" He asked.

"You were about to tell them that they have nothing to worry about, and you have everything under control." Astrid piped in as she, Raeda and Hicca joined Hiccup onstage.

Hiccup then turned to the crowd. "Alright, people, you have nothing to worry about, and everything is under control."

That wasn't good enough for the crowd as the yelling restarted once again.

"It would help to say you have a plan to bring back Stoick." Raeda said to Hiccup.

Unable to take it anymore, Hiccup hurried off the stage and left the Great Hall, an action which went unnoticed by the crowd but not by the three girls with him and their dragons. They went after him.

Hiccup went outside and clutched his head. It was just a few hours of him being the acting chief and already he was losing the confidence from his people. No doubt after what happened today, no one will have faith in him as chief. And what's worse was that Snotlout did a better job than him. Sure the Jorgenson boy also wasn't successful in motivating the vikings but he would have had he not caught on fire. Snotlout just had that confidence to stand up in front of thousands of people and say whatever he wants with no fear. It might make him arrogant, but it was something Hiccup wished he could have.

But that was not what bothered him the most. No what plagued most of his mind the most was the fact that while he is struggling to gain control on Berk, his dad was a prisoner on Outcast Island at the hands of Dagur the Deranged, a sadistic, lunatic maniac who had no problem killing his own father to become chief. Who knows what he could be doing right now to Stoick?

"Hiccup." His sisters' voice called to him. He suddenly found her in front of him. "Listen bro. Don't let this get to you. One setback doesn't mean you should quit. Let's just go back inside and figure this out-"

"No!" Hiccup suddenly exclaimed to the shock of the three girls and the dragons. "I definitely am not going back there and make a fool out of myself once again!"

Hicca, despite her shock, remained calm. "Hiccup, you're the acting chief. You need to address your people and assure them-"

"What I need is for you to stop hovering over me and nagging on me, telling me what to do!" Hiccup exclaimed, before he could process what he just said. His sister was the last person on earth he wanted to take his anger out on, but the stress suddenly became too much for him to bare.

Hicca lost her calm composure and looked more shocked and hurt. "A-alright then. You clearly need to be alone." Without another word she left the group, causing Midnight to snap out of her shock and follow her human.

"Hiccup, that was completely uncalled for." Raeda spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Rae, but right now it's a little hard for me to be all calm and collected given the current situation." Hiccup pointed out.

"Well, how do you think your twin is feeling about this? Do you actually think she's not worried at all?! Of course she is! She is freaking out as much as you are. She was trying to push it aside and be level-headed so that she can reassure you and herself that everything will be fine! Before Gobber called us to the meeting, Hicca spent an hour telling me exactly her thoughts on the situations and the million different scenarios that were going through her head! And let me tell you, a lot of them have scarred my mind."

She paused to give Hiccup a moment to process what she just said, before continuing. "Look Hiccup, we're not blind here. We know you're trying to do your best in coming up with a way to rescue your and Hiccas' dad, becoming a good chief in his absence and dealing with the Screaming Death all at the same time. I can't imagine how I would handle this situation if I was in your place. But you need to remember. We're all here for you, we're ready to help you. And there is no doubt in my mind that Hicca will be in the front of that line with Toothless and Midnight. But if you continue to think that you're the only one who needs to carry the weight and burdens of every problem we face, you are going to crash and burn." With that, she gave Hiccup a reassuring pat on the shoulder and started walking away. "I'll go check on Hicca."

That just left Hiccup and Astrid. "Hiccup…" Astrid spoke up, trying to find something to say that would help the boy. But there was no need as Hiccup cut her off.

"Hicca was right. I need to be left alone." He said walking away to the direction of his house.

Out at the sea, Fishlegs and Meatlug were assigned to look for Berserker ships, hoping to find a sign of Dagurs' next move. Unfortunately they found none. "Hmm. No sign of Berserker boats." Fishlegs said to his dragon. "We should head back and let Hiccup and Hicca know." Suddenly they saw the nearby sea-stacks shaking and heard a familiar roar in the distance. In panic, Fishlegs quickly directed Meatlug to hid behind one of the sea-stacks. And it was just in time as the owner of the roar flew right by. "Uh-oh. That is not good."

Back on Berk, Hiccup and Toothless walked in the empty household. Hiccup was feeling extremely guilty of the way he treated his twin. She was only trying to help him and he shoved her aside. His mind then went back to what the Thorston twins said back at the Academy about Hiccup treating his sister differently when he becomes chief and he snorted.

'Of all the rare moments where Ruff and Tuff were actually right about something.' He thought sadly.

Toothless nudged his rider, trying to offer some comfort to him. Hiccup merely responded with a pat on the snout before sitting on a one of the chairs.

That's when Gobber walked inside. The blacksmith/ dragon dentist didn't know what happened between the Haddock twins but he knew something did happen when he noticed neither Hicca nor Midnight with the boys. Deciding to bring that up later, Gobber decided to help Hiccup with his lack of confidence in being chief. "You know, Hiccup, there's nothing easy about chiefing." He said. "You should've seen Stoick when he first took over. He was like a newborn yak trying to find his feet."

"I find that hard to believe." Hiccup said, wondering if Gobber was making that up just to make him feel better.

"It's true." Gobber insisted. "In fact, there were some in this town that didn't think he had it in him. Alvin, for one. He wouldn't shut up about it. Hiccup, being chief doesn't mean everyone's going to agree with you. Sometimes you have to deal with the Alvins and Snotlouts of the world."

"I feel like that's all I do." Hiccup sighed.

There was a moment of silence before Gobber spoke up again. "They were best friends, you know."

"Who?" Hiccup asked.

"Alvin and Stoick." Gobber answered. "They were inseparable since birth."

"So what happened? What changed?" Hiccup asked, hoping to finally know what happen to make his father hate Alvin so much.

"Everything." Was all Gobber said.

Before Hiccup could press for more, they heard Fishlegs voice outside. "Hiccup! Hicca!" Fishlegs ran in with Meatlug and started panting. "Hiccup!" He panted. "Where's Hicca?"

"She is taking care of other things." Hiccup lied. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Screaming! Coming!" Fishlegs said in panic.

"Oh. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Take a breath there, Fishlegs." Hiccup instructed.

Fishlegs took a few deep breaths before explaining. "I was on patrol with Meatlug. The Screaming Death... we saw it. It's eating its way... to Berk."

Immediately, Hiccup ran outside towards the cliffs, followed by Fishlegs, Toothless and Meatlug.

"How much time do we have?" Hiccup asked Fishlegs.

"Not much." The Ingerman boy answered. "It was just off Dragon island when we saw it.

That's when Stormfly, Sparkfire and Midnight flew towards the group and landed near them. Their riders got off their dragons and Astrid handed Hiccup a parchment. "This came for you and Hicca. It's from Dagur."

"And the hits just keep on coming." Hiccup muttered, unrolling the parchment. His sister walked towards him and they both started reading the note.

"Well, what does it say?" Raeda asked.

"We have until tonight to deliver Toothless and Midnight, or our father will…" Unable to read any further, Hiccup clenched the parchment in and threw it aside.

"It's a trap. You know that." Astrid said. "If we fly anywhere near Outcast island…"

"Well, it's not like we have any other options." Hiccup interrupted her, feeling the stress coming back to him.

"Are you saying we should walk right into Dagurs' trap?" Fishlegs asked in disbelief.

"Why not? We fly to Outcast Island and half the group will attack and the other half could rescue our dad." Hiccup said, though it was clear he was grasping on straws because he had no idea what to do and time was running out.

"Hiccup, I know you have a history of coming up with insane ideas, but those ideas always had some method to their madness. This one is pure insane. Dagur will expect that. His armada will be positioned and ready for us as soon as we're in sight. Eight dragon riders aren't enough" Raeda pointed out.

"We don't have time to come up with an elaborate plan. Dagur has never been one for patience. And we can't really rally the viking troops thanks to my oh-so-strong chiefing skills, it is completely impossible-"

SLAP!

Silence filled the group as they tried to process what just happened. Hiccup touched his cheek where his twin slapped him and looked at his sister in shock.

"Hicca…" He trailed off, having no idea what to say. Was she that mad at him?]

"You needed a wake up call." Hicca explained. "'It's completely impossible?" When did the word 'impossible' come in your vocabulary? You know what else was impossible? Training dragons, defeating a dragon the size of a mountain, starting a Dragon Academy. Do you know what all those things have in common? We made them possible because we didn't follow the norms of vikings. You didn't need to be the kind of leader dad is. You just needed a plan no viking would ever think doing and you need a team to support you, and you have both! So you need to stop wasting time lamenting over the situation and start coming up with a crazy plan. Don't consider anything impossible."

Hiccup was quiet as he thought over his sisters' words. She was right. They have beaten the odds before, why can't they do that now? And one advantage of their situation was that Dagur revealed in his note that they weren't on Berserker territory, they were on Outcast Territory-

And it suddenly clicked. At that moment he wanted to hug his sister and tell her how amazing she is, but he decided to do that later. Right now they have a mission to focus on.

"I have a plan." Hiccup said.

"Now that's more like it." Hicca said.

Hiccup turned to Astrid, Raeda and Fishlegs. "You guys get Snotlout and the Thorston twins. Tell them to be ready for the Screaming Death." He instructed.

"What about your father?" Astrid asked.

"Hicca and I will handle that. Right, sis?"

"Definitely." Hicca said smiling.

Astrid and Fishlegs went to get Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff. Raeda went to the Haddock twins. "Whatever insane idea you two are about to pull, just promise me you all come back safely with your dad." Raeda said.

"Only if you promise to do the same when you guys encounter the Screaming Death." Hiccup said.

"It's a deal." Raeda said, giving both the twins a hug before running to join the other teens.

Hiccup then spoke. "Look, sis. About what I said to you earlier-"

"Lucky for you I know you so well, to know what was really going on in your mind. Plus the slap makes us even." Hicca said.

"Yeah, that was quite a slap." Hiccup commented, touching the side of his face that got slap.

"Yeah, sorry about that. That was more of an impulse decision. And it left a red mark." Hicca said, looking at said mark. Toothless and Midnight licked the cheek in an attempt to make it better.

"Nevermind. That will fade away. Come on, we're bringing an extra passenger." Hiccup said, leading the way.

The four of them went to the Academy, were Alvin the Treacherous was currently in one of the empty pens. After Dagur kidnapped his dad, Hiccup had a hard time deciding what to do with Alvin despite his assistance, so the younger boy kept him in the pen until he could sort out his mind.

Currently, the Haddock twins and the Night Furies were approaching the pen, with the two dragons growling at the former Outcast chief and Hiccup making sure to be in front of his sister. The Haddock boy explained his plan on the way to the Academy and the dragons were less than happy with it.

"So how'd that town meeting go?" Alvin asked, trying to act innocent. The truth was the ruckus from the meeting was so loud, it reached the Academy. "Sounds like you had 'em right in the palm of your hand." He then noticed the red mark on Hiccups' face and was genuinely curious. "And what happened to your face, boy."

"Never mind any of that, Alvin." Hiccup dismissed quickly as Toothless and Midnight continued to growl. The auburn boy then opened the gate of the pen, setting Alvin free.

The older man took a few steps out and paused, wondering what the kids angle was. "Well, this is awkward. Do I stay? Do I go?"

"Both." Hiccup answered. "You are gonna show us a way into Outcast island."

"We're going there together, Alvin." Hicca said. "We're going to bring our father home."

Alvin gave a smirk to the teens. They finally decided to trust him, eh? This was going to be interesting.

They wasted no time and were soon in the air, with Alvin flying with Hiccup and Toothless. The former Outcast chief was out of his element flying on a dragon for the first time. This caused him to grip Hiccups' shoulders tightly, much to the boys' discomfort.

"You mind loosening up that death grip a little bit?" Hiccup grunted.

Alvin chuckled at that, loosening his grip. "Sorry. They all tend to be death grips." Toothless then flapped his wings high enough, that they actually hit Alvin at his sides. This made Midnight and Toothless laugh, while Hicca tried to conceal her laughter.

"Toothless, no." Hiccup admonished, but it was only an act as the boy secretly patted his dragon. A thought then came to Hiccup. "So word on the street is you and my father used to be best friends."

"Yeah. That was a long time ago." Alvin said.

"So what changed?" Hicca asked.

"Your father and I were young Vikings charged with defending Berk against dragon attacks. Stoick was the chief's son, so he was in command. I was just a soldier." Alvin explained. "Sound familiar?"

"It does. Sounds like me and Snotlout." Hiccup admitted.

"Minus the best friend part." Hicca added.

"Yeah, well, anyway, there was a Monstrous Nightmare attack one night, your father and I disagreed on how to defend the village. Well, I disobeyed orders, and there were a few injuries." His eyes were downcast as he sighed. "Things were never the same after that. When Stoick became chief, it was only a matter of time before he banished me."

Hiccup thought over that information and his current predicament with Snotlout, while Hicca spotted Outcast Island in her sight.

"Well, on that cheery note, we've arrived." She announced.

The dragons flew at the South of Outcast Island, where thankfully there were no soldiers to shoot them down on sight.

"Let's get on with it." Alvin urged.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We can't just fly over the island, Alvin. They're going to be expecting us." Hiccup pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that." Alvin said. "We're not flying over the island, We're flying under it. Hold your breath."

That was all the warning he gave, before he suddenly pressed on Toothless stirrup, causing the prosthetic tail to close up.

"Hey!" Hicca exclaimed, while Midnight moved them away to avoid getting hit by Toothless.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup demanded as he and Toothless struggle to regain control before they hit the water.

"Dive, dragon, dive!" Alvin ordered.

"No, Toothless." Hiccup said, regaining control of the stirrup and opening the prosthetic tail once again.

"What? I thought you two were gonna trust me. Moment of truth, kids." Alvinn countered.

The Haddock twins, exchanged a look and Hicca nodded to her brother, deciding to trust Alvin on this. Hiccup then turned back to his dragon. "Do it, bud. Just do it."

"Midnight, follow them." Hicca said.

Both dragons dived underwater. There Alvin guided them to a hidden passageway. When they emerged gasping for air, the group found themselves in a tunnel.

"That tunnel will take us directly to the heart of the island." Alvin said to the group.

"Wait. How do you know Dagur hasn't found this tunnel?" Hiccup panted.

"Because I got a man on the inside who assures me that it's clean." The former Outcast chief reassured.

Turns out the inside man was none other than Mildew! The old man was currently trying to feed the dragons in the cages, which proved to be difficult as the dragons either kept trying to take more food or take his staff.

"Mildew? This traitor is your man on the inside?" Hiccup asked Alvin in disbelief.

"Looks like betraying people is his specialty." Hicca commented folding her arms. Midnight and Toothless growled at Mildew, causing Fungus to hide behind the old man.

"Well, he's always been faithful to me." Alvin said.

"Oh, well, there's that warm, fuzzy feeling Hicca and I were looking for." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"Definitely reassuring." Hicca said with equal sarcasm.

Mildew went back to feeding the dragons, or at least trying to. "Mildew, I have to say I never thought I'd see the day you'd be playing nanny to a nursery of dragons." Hiccup said.

"An interesting turn of events, to say the least." The old man said. Suddenly one of the dragons snatched his staff, putting Mildew in a tug-of-war match with said dragon for the staff.

"Quite ironic if you ask me." Hicca commented.

Hiccup then saw one of the cages holding a Whispering Death and with the dragon were several dragon eggs. "So this is where all those Whispering Death eggs you planted came from." Hiccup asked.

"His idea. And not a very good one, at that." Alvin commented, while Mildew looked at the ground sheepishly.

Hicca seemed to be having the same thoughts her brother was having. "So this Whispering Death laid all the eggs."

"Every one." Mildew answered.

"Which would include a large, red egg?" Hicca asked.

"Odd, that one." Mildew commented, remembering that egg. "I was wondering about it. How did it turn out?"

"Eh, big." Hiccup answered.

"And terrifying." Hicca added.

Mildew clicked his tongue and gave out a "hmmm"

Hiccup then went to Toothless' saddle bag and pulled a paper and charcoal out. "What are you doing?" Alvin asked.

"Sending a message home." Hiccup answered as he pulled out Sharpshot (how did that dragon stay perfectly still in the bag the whole time?) "That red egg turned out to be a Screaming Death. It's been destroying whole islands looking for something, and now it's headed to Berk, but... I think I might know what it's really looking for."

Hicca looked at the Whispering Death, then back to her brother with the same realisation. "Of course! It makes perfect sense!"

Hiccup finished writing the note and attached it to Sharpshots' leg.

"All right. Here's our plan…" Alvin started to say before Hiccup interrupted him.

"Uh, no offense, there, Alvin, but your plans... your plans are terrible. Here's what we need to do." Hiccup said as his sister smiled at him with pride. There was the bold brother she knows and loves.

After discussing the plan, with the two older plan reluctantly being impressed by it, the Haddock twins and the Night Furies went to the Outcast Arena. Once they reached, they spotted some guards and quickly hid themselves before they were spotted. Hiccup then released Sharpshot and the Terror flew off to Berk.

"Ready, guys?" Hiccup asked Hicca, Midnight and Toothless, holding his shield.

"Ready." Hicca said firmly, holding her staff, while the two Night Furies gave a nod.

"Okay, it's showtime."

With that, the two teens and dragons charged at the guards and got the first strike before the soldiers could register what was going on. Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blast at the guards, sending them back while Hicca jabbed them with the bulk end of her staff. Hiccup saw a bola flying towards him and quickly blocked it with his shield. Another bola came at Hicca, but she used the sharp end of her staff to cut through it. The Night Furies used their plasma blasts to deflect a few more bolas thrown at them.

It seemed that the Berkians were winning this fight, until Midnight and Toothless got to the center of the Arena. Hiccup spotted something above them.

"Toothless, Midnight, look out!" But that warning came too late as a cage hit the ground, trapping the two Night Furies inside. The dragons tried to blast their way out but it was no use, the cage was dragon-proof.

"Midnight! Toothless!" Hicca exclaimed as she and her brother ran to help their dragons, but the two humans suddenly found themselves surrounded by Berserker and Outcast guards and held at sword-point.

"Welcome back to Outcast island, Hiccup and Hicca." Savage said smugly as he and Dagur approached their captives.

Dagur went to the two caged dragons. "You're both finally mine. All mine." He said happily as the two dragons growled at him with their pupils in slits. "First thing we're gonna do is change the names. It makes no sense. Especially Toothless." He said looking at the male Night Fury. "Look at all those teeth." The deranged teen reached his hand inside the cage to inspect the teeth and narrowly missed getting his hand bitten off by Toothless.

"You will not control me or my mate!' Toothless snarled in his dragon language.

'Just wait till you see what have in store for you!' Midnight snarled.

Dagur, not knowing dragon language, was unfazed by their behaviors. "You'll both learn to respect me, dragons. Or I'll wear one of you as a hat."

"Leave them alone, Dagur!" Hiccup protested.

"If you hurt either one of them, there will be consequences!" Hicca threatened.

Dagur was once again unfazed. "Put them with his father. We'll dispose of them later." He ordered his soldiers who did as they were told.

On Berk, Sharpshot made sure to get the message to the Academy as quickly as possible. And he achieved that by biting Snotlouts' arm. "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! Painful message. Painful message!" The Jorgenson boy yelped as he ran into the Academy, wondering why every Terrible Terror was after him.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut quickly pulled Sharpshot from Snotlout, causing the dark haired boy to fall backwards and Raeda grabbed the note attached to the Terrors' leg.

"Oh, whoa. Is that your skin in his mouth?" Tuffnut asked, looking at Sharpshots' teeth.

"That must hurt." Ruffnut chuckled as she held Sharpshot. She then had a mischievous smirk on her face as an idea popped into her mind. She released the Terror, leading to it attacking Tuffnut!

"Wah! Ow! Argh! Yeah, definitely hurts." Tuffnut yelped as the Terror started biting him.

"Seriously?" Raeda asked Ruffnut, who tried to looked innocent. Shaking her head, the Henderson girl then read the note.

"What does it say?" Fishlegs asked.

"Hiccup and Hicca have an idea to stop the Screaming Death. But we're gonna need to lure it to Outcast island." Raeda informed the others.

"Okay, what could we use to lure it?" Tuffnut said as he finally managed to pull the Terrible Terror away from him. Getting bored, Sharpshot flew away to find some friends to play with.

"It likes eating islands." Ruffnut mused.

Tuffnut thought about that before he got an idea. "Ah! That's it. We need to find a really tiny island and a really big rope. Who do we talk to about that?" He asked Astrid, who just responded by punching him in the face.

"What about the dragon root?" Fishlegs suggested.

"Yeah, and you thought my tiny island idea was dumb." Tuffnut said, rubbing his face. "Dragon root. I mean, a rope can be infinitely big."

But Astrid disagreed with the Thorston boy. "Great idea, Fishlegs. Gobber locked the dragon root up, so we could get rid of it."

"Just one problem. All our dragons go nuts when they go anywhere near it." Snotlout pointed out.

"Um, if you recall, not all the dragons are affected by the dragon root." Fishlegs interjected, walking towards Meatlug. "For example, as a Boulder class dragon, Meatlug is…" He stopped when he noticed the others looking at him, all with smirks on their faces. He then realised what they were thinking. "And I've said too much."

Soon Fishlegs found himself flying with Meatlug and the dragon root trying to draw out the Screaming Death. "Here, Screaming Death! Here! Here, Screaming Death! I've got some delicious dragon root for you!" Fishlegs called out nervously. He then heard a familiar roar not too far away from them.

"Oh, dear." Fishlegs muttered, wondering why he had to give that information on Meatlug and dragon roots. Him and his big mouth.

Back on Outcast Island, Dagur brought Stoick and his kids to the Arena, all three captives bound up to gloat his victory before disposing of them. "Are the other dragon riders here, kids?" Stoick asked his kids, hoping they had an actual plan up their sleeves.

"Well, not exactly." Hiccup answered.

"Oh, the Berk fleet." The Berkian chief guessed.

"No." Hicca admitted.

Stoick pondered over that. No dragon riders and no fleet. "Do you two have any plan at all?"

"We do, actually." Hiccup said.

"Oh, good. Good. Would either of you like to fill me in?"

"Uh, no, we'd just like to watch it unfold, if it's all the same to you." Hiccup said.

"Yeah, why spoil the surprise?" Hicca agreed.

The three captured humans could do nothing but watch as Dagur admired the captured Night Furies. "I have big plans for you, Mr. and Mrs. Night Fury. You'll both be the new symbol of the Berserkers. Every corner of the archipelago will know and fear you two." He was too busy talking that he didn't notice that an Outcast soldier standing besides Hiccup suddenly disappeared down a newly emerged hole. Hiccup, Hicca and Stoick saw this but didn't say anything as Dagur continued, completely oblivious. "Of course, we'll need to change all the sails and shields, and I'll need a new belt buckle. What's that gonna cost?" He wondered before shrugging. Behind him a few more soldiers disappeared, but the young chief still didn't notice. "Well, we'll worry about that after we've burned Berk to the ground. Hey, how about 'Deathkiller? Either of you like that name? Deathkiller? No? Oh, well. We'll keep brainstorming. I mean, there's gotta be 'death' in it, right…" He finally turned back and notice one of his soldiers suddenly disappearing into the ground. "Wha... what's going on? What is this?"

Suddenly a Whispering Death emerged from the ground, revealing to be the one responsible for the soldiers disappearing, causing Dagur, Savage and the rest of the soldiers to back away. More Whispering Deaths emerged from the ground, one of them carrying Alvin and Mildew on its tail.

Alvin threw Mildew to the ground right near Toothless and Midnights' cage. The old man quickly unlocked the cage, setting the two Night Furies free.

"Alvin, Mildew, and Whispering Deaths. This was your plan?!" Alvin demanded in disbelief, wondering if his kids came up with the best or worst plan ever.

"Did not see that coming, did you?" Hiccup responded.

"Just when you thought we couldn't pull of any more crazy stunts." Hicca said.

Alvin let go of the Screaming Death tail and landed right next to the Haddock family. The former Outcast chief quickly cut through the bindings of all three prisoners setting them free.

"Just like the good, old days." Alvin chuckled at Stoick as he cut his bonds last, while the auburn twins ran to their dragons.

Some of the soldiers tried to block the two teens, preventing them from getting to their dragons, but Hiccup and Hicca both got out their weapons and fought back, overpowering them. Toothless and Midnight were blasting away the soldiers.

"Time to end this once and for all, Midnight!" Hicca exclaimed.

"Come on, Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed.

The two dragons quickly ran to their riders but at that moment, the ground suddenly caved in due to the numerous tunnels underground made by the Whispering Deaths. Midnight was able to fly out of there and grab her rider but Toothless wasn't so lucky as he fell along with Dagur, Savage and a lot of the Outcast and Berserker soldiers.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called out. The shaking ground caused the caged ceiling above them fall. Hiccup immediately grabbed onto the metal bar of the ceiling, saving himself from falling into the newly formed ditched. Midnight saw this and quickly flew towards the boy, but was stopped when a bola suddenly came flying towards her. Luckily the female Night Fury managed to dodge in time and landed where she and Hicca were surrounded by soldiers who were lucky enough to not fall in the trench.

Midnight prepared another plasma blast, when she found that she couldn't fire. Hicca noticed this as well. "Oh, no. Your shot limit." She said before looking back at the approaching soldiers. Readying her staff, she got off Midnight and both girls started fighting against the soldiers.

Alvin and Stoick continued to fight against the soldiers as the ground crumbled. Alvin suddenly found himself falling into the trench when Stoick grabbed his arm and threw him with enough force that he landed at the stands of the Arena right on a Berserker soldier who was standing there with a crossbow. Suddenly Mildew comes out flying as well, landing on another Berserker soldier there.

Down in the trench, Dagur was getting up and noticed Toothless in front of him. "Okay, Night Fury. Come to daddy." He said, approaching Toothless

Toothless tried to fired a plasma blast at him, but wasn't able to. "Six-shot limit. Oh, great." Hiccup muttered, watching everything from above while hanging onto the metal bar.

Toothless glared as the Outcast and Berserker soldiers started surrounding him. "Get me my Night Fury!" Dagur demanded, growing impatient.

The soldiers charged at the male Night Fury but Toothless was able to keep them away. Seeing this opportunity, Dagur charged at Toothless and jumped on his saddle, trying to gain control of the dragon, leading to Toothless struggling to get the deranged teeenager off.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled from above.

"Come on, already!" Dagur grunted, trying to gain the upperhand.

Finally, Toothless managed to shake Dagur off. The dragon then climbed onto a ledge above. He looked at his rider, who suddenly lost his grip on the metal bar. Hiccup started falling into the trench and Toothless immediately jumped from his ledge, catching his human on his back. Hiccup quickly put his foot in the prosthetic stirrup and opened Toothless' tail, allowing both boys to fly out of the ditch and land nearby where they found themselves surrounded by more soldiers.

"Oh, great." Hiccup muttered. How could they fend off this many soldiers without Toothless' plasma blast?

The answer came in the form of green gas which surrounded the soldiers. The gas was then lit up, causing an explosion which sent the soldiers flying back. The source of the explosion, Barf and Belch flew around the Arena with their riders, Ruffnut and Tuffnut surveying the scene. "Whoa, this is chaos on a level I've never seen before!" Ruffnut said in awe.

"I know. I want to live here." Tuffnut declared.

"Forever!" Ruffnut agreed.

"Boy, are we ever glad to see you guys." Hiccup said in relief.

"Don't thank us yet. Things are about to get a lot crazier." Astrid said as she and Raeda landed with their dragons by Hiccup and Toothless' sides.

"You better not be trying to go back on the promise you and Hicca made me." Raeda said, before firing an arrow at an Outcast soldier who was charging at Hiccup and Toothless, hitting him in the shoulder. The three teens and dragons then flew up in the air to fight against more soldiers.

Outside the Arena Alvin continued to knock away any soldier who charged while Mildew managed to knock them back by his staff.

At the entrance of the Arena, Stoick was easily able to subdue his opponents with ease.

While all this chaos took place on Outcast Island, Fishlegs and Meatlug were trying to fly to the same place with the Screaming Death right at their tail. "Oh, Thor. Oh, Thor. Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs chanted as Meatlug continued to avoid getting herself and her human eaten by the larger dragon.

Unfortunately, the Screaming Death got close enough that it started to close it jaws around the boy and dragon duo. But just before it could, Meatlug suddenly farted causing the Screaming Death to open its mouth and allow the duo to reach the Island.

"Hiccup, Hicca help!" Fishlegs cried out as the Screaming Death continued to pursue them.

"Why in the name of Odin did you bring that here?" Stoick asked Hiccup as he and Toothless landed close to him.

"This may be the only chance we have to get rid of it." Hiccup explained. "Hicca and I saw the Screaming Death's mother. It's been destroying those islands searching for her."

"That thing has a mother?" Stoick asked in disbelief, looking at the Screaming Death.

"Yeah." Hiccup said, as they both watched as the Screaming Death spotted one of the Whispering Deaths in the ditched, which was its' mother. The Screaming Death then stopped in its' pursuit. "They've seen each other. All we have to do now is get them together and get clear of this place."

"Then what?" The Berkian chief asked.

"I'm hoping it does exactly what Hicca and I think it should." Hiccup answered.

"And what would that be?"

"Something good?"

Hicca then noticed the Screaming Death and the Whispering Death looking at each other. "Now, Fishlegs, now!" She commanded.

"Thank Odin, thank Odin, thank Odin." Fishlegs breathed out in relief. "Root away!" Meatlug dropped the dragon root into the ocean, where it will hopefully never be discovered by a dragon again. (Are Scauldrons affected by dragon roots? Shrug)

Dagur saw the exchange between the two dragons and got the realisation. "Ah, I see. It wants its mommy." He signalled his soldiers nearby and they grabbed their bolas and use them to trap the Whispering Death, preventing it from flying to its' child.

"Dagur, no! You don't know what you're doing. You let that Whispering Death go before you destroy us all!" Hiccup pleaded.

"Why would I do that? Hello, I'm Deranged!" Dagur retorted.

"Well, can't argue with logic like that. Right?" Tuffnut commented.

At a distance Savage was surveying the situation and decided to use this opportunity to retreat. "Well, that's my cue."

"You're not going to get away with this, Dagur!" Hicca exclaimed as she and Midnight charged towards them. However, Midnight was caught off guard by a bola that suddenly latched itself on her tail-fin, causing her to crash to the ground and sending Hicca flying ahead onto the ground. She was about to get up when she was suddenly hauled up and held at sword-point by Dagur!

"Did you think I would forget how you made me lose my Skrill." Dagur asked the girl who was struggling against his hold.

"HICCA!" Hiccup and Stoick yelled. Midnight roared at Dagur.

"Let her go, Dagur. Now!" Raeda demanded readying her bow and arrow

"You're in no position to make threats here, Henderson." Dagur countered, holding the sword closer to Hiccas' neck to prove his point.

Above them, the Screaming Death screeched at the sight of its' mother captured. "Back off, Hiccup!" Dagur warned the younger teen. "You know if I destroy her, that thing will take us all out! And I'll make sure to finish off your sister before that happens."

"He's right. Everyone, back off." Hiccup said, trying to figure out a way to get both his twin and the Whispering Death out of their hostage situation.

The teens and dragons backed off, except for Raeda who still held her bow and arrow.

"Raeda, this will not save Hicca and you know it." Hiccup said, hoping his best friend would listen for his sisters' sake. Luckily Raeda did and lowered her weapons reluctantly.

"Wise choice. Now, I might be interested in a trade." Dagur said, keeping the sword near Hiccas' neck. Hiccup said nothing but just glared at him. "Oh, come on, really? You couldn't see this coming?"

"Never retreat! Never surrender!" A loud voice broke through this tense situation, causing everyone to look up and see Snotlout and Hookfang flying in the air.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup shouted, trying to get the Jorgenson boy to back down. If Snotlout did anything to get Hiccup hurt or worse, Hiccup would never forgive him and would definitely expel him from the Academy.

Hookfang set himself on fire and flew in a circle to form a fireball. He then shot the fireball at the soldiers who were holding the Whispering Death captive, causing them to dive out of the way and setting the dragon free. The force of the blast knocked Dagur away from Hicca, who quickly ran to Midnight and cut the bindings around the tailfin.

The two girls then flew out of the ditch and towards Hiccup and Toothless where the Haddock boy immediately embraced his sister, relieved that she was safe.

"Oh thank goodness!" Raeda said as she and Sparkfire joined the group and the Henderson girl joining in the hug.

Above them, the Whispering Death and Screaming Death were having their own reunion, revealing that the Whispering Death was indeed the reason for the Screaming Death rampage as well as its' mother. The larger dragon then flew to where Hiccup and his group were and glared at them.

Hiccup gulped as he stood in front of the two girls, wondering if the rogue dragon was still holding a grudge against them for the past. The larger dragon then gave out an ear-splitting roar right at the group, before it flew off to join its' mother and the other Whispering Deaths as they flew away from the Island.

"Uh, you're welcome." Hiccup called to the rogue dragon.

"Thank goodness, that's finally over." Hicca breathed out in relief as she leaned against her brother who put an arm over her.

Snotlout and Hookfang then joined the group and the boy got off his dragon. "Okay, I know I wasn't following orders, Hiccup, but I... well, um…" Snotlout started to say before trailing off, realising he didn't exactly prepared a defense for his actions.

"Snotlout, you did the right thing." Hiccup interjected.

"Yeah, I did, but-" Snotlout said quickly before realising what Hiccup just said. "Wait, what? Are you messing with me? I was reckless!"

"Sometimes reckless can be courageous." Hiccup said. "I think I speak for on behalf of my co-leader when we say that your suspension is... well, suspended."

"Yep, definitely." Hicca said extremely grateful towards her cousin.

Hiccup then extended his hand out for his cousin, which Snotlout shook, finally putting their feud behind them.

This peaceful moment was then interrupted by a battle-cry as Dagur suddenly jumped out of the ditch with a spear. He charged at the group, when he was suddenly knocked back by a fist. "Hello, Dagur. Remember me?" Alvin sneered as he unclenched his fist.

"Oh, no. No!" Dagur said as Alvin picked him up by his shirt. "Hiccup! Brother?"

"He is not your brother, you deranged lunatic!" Hicca shouted.

"We'll let you take care of the rest from here, Alvin." Raeda called to the Outcast chief.

Later in the evening, after Alvin regained control of his island and tossed Dagur and the other Berserkers in the cells, Alvin and Stoick stood at the cliffs staring out at the ocean. "Who'd have thought it would've come to this, eh, Stoick?" Alvin said.

"There's more than enough blame to go around, Alvin." Stoick said. "But that's in the past... what you did today for me, for my son and daughter." He extended his hand and Alvin shook it, finally putting an end to their long-time rivalry.

The Berkians all went back to their home where they announced the good news to the rest of the villagers who celebrated the return of their chief and the victory against the Berserkers.

The Haddock family, including the dragons, stood at the cliffs and reflected on the recent events.

"You know, son, you're gonna be a great chief someday. One of the best, I'd wager." Stoick said to Hiccup.

Hiccup chuckled at that, remembering the meeting in the Great Hall and his outbursts. "Yeah. If the last few days are any indication of what it's like to be chief, I'd just as soon leave that to you." He then looked at his sister. "But it does give me confidence to know that when I become chief, I'll have an amazing second-in-command by my side."

"And healer." Hicca corrected with a smile. "Second-in-command and healer."

"And healer of course. Berk would be lost without an amazing healer." Hiccup said wrapping an arm around his sisters' shoulders. "Now all we need is for the baby Night Furies to come back to wherever they flew off to."

Toothless and Midnight warbled their agreements at that, remembering their children.

"And they will." Hicca said with confidence. "Because nothing is impossible."

"Retreat! Retreat! Hookfang!" Snotlout yelled as he and Hookfang flew around, with the Monstrous Nightmare lighting itself on fire once again (sigh) "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, it burns! It burns, it burns, it burns!"

The other dragon riders and dragon flew with them to try and calm down the Monstrous Nightmare (the Thorston twins were no doubt encouraging Hookfang). Astrid and Stormfly flew to the group at the cliff.

"Hiccup? Hicca? We need you." Astrid said.

"Stoick, Silent Sven just broke his silence!" Gobber called, running up to the group. "And you are not going to like what he has to say."

"Go on, it looks like we both have our own chiefing to do." Stoick said to his kids.

"Come on, guys." With that, the teens and dragons flew to join the others..

Soon they were able to calm Hookfang down and getting Snotlout in a trough full of water.

The Haddock twins and Night Furies then decided to take a flight around Berk.

 ** _This is Berk._**

They flew by the Academy, where Astrid and Stormfly were doing target training. Astrid set-up a plank that was balanced on a barrel, acting as a lever. On top of the plank were three plates. Astrid then launched the three plates in the air and the blue Nadder immediately fired, hitting all three plates dead on. Her rider then rewarded her with a chicken leg.

 ** _We've got ice, we've got snow... and we've got more ice. But we've also got dragons._**

The four of them then flew by Raedas' house where the Henderson girl was putting some well-designed shields around the outer walls of her house with the help of Sparkfire. Raeda held one shield in each hand held them at a wall above her head. Sparkfire then fired a single spine shot at each shield, hitting them in the center and pinning them up to the wall. Raeda then went and petted the purple Nadder

 ** _We train them... learn from them... protect them._**

The group then passed by Fishlegs and Meatlug, with the latter lying peacefully while the former updated the Book of Dragons with information on the Screaming Death.

 ** _And they protect us. Sometimes from ourselves._**

Finally the two teens and dragons flew passed Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the other pair of twins, who were in the middle of yet another fight. Barf and Belch then decided to settle the matter by picking up their riders by their tunics in their mouth to separate them, not that it stopped them.

 ** _One thing's for sure. We wouldn't trade this for anything. Would you?_**

 **A/N: (Confetti is released) IT IS FINISHED! I finished with the final chapter of Defenders of Berk! Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing and supporting my stories and for being patient with me even when I took long in my updates. And special thanks to reviewers such as Rachel, Arwen the Storyteller, snake screamer, Musical Ninja and the rest (sorry if I didn't mention your names, but I appreciate you guys just as much) for giving me suggestions to help me make my stories more unique.**

 **My new story will be on 'Race to Edge' but right now I was thinking of working to finish my other in progress stories 'Rising Sun', 'Shooting Star' and 'Ruffnut' before I start that. After all, I know what it's like to be waiting forever for a story to be updated.**

 **I was also thinking of some new story ideas. One of them will require some questions from you guys. If you have any questions about my stories you want to ask, feel free to. It was just an idea that suddenly came to my mind, I want to see how it turns out.**

 **Also as this is the last chapter both my polls are now closed and here are the results. The first poll (cue drumroll) the baby Night Furies will be coming back in Dragons: Race to Edge! And the second poll, including the guest reviews, (cue drumroll again), Hicca/Henry and Raeda/Marcus! Sorry for those who wanted the it to be the other way around but majority won. Also I don't know if I mentioned this before but I decided to keep Marcus and Henrys names as they are because I've gotten used to it now. The wonders of fan fiction; anything goes.**

 **Until next time, Bye!**


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